Antibodies to matrix metalloproteinase 9

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides compositions and methods of use involving binding proteins, e.g., antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof, that bind to the matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) protein (MMP9 is also known as gelatinase-B), such as where the binding proteins comprise an immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain (or functional fragment thereof) and an Ig light chain (or functional fragment thereof).

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING SUBMITTED VIA EPS-WEB

The entire content of the following electronic submission of thesequence listing via the USPTO EFS-WEB server, as authorized and setforth in MPEP § 1730 II.B.2(a)(C), is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety for all purposes. The sequence listing is identified onthe electronically filed text file as follows:

File Name Date of Creation Size (bytes) 246102008540Seqlist Feb. 29,2012 65,102 bytes

FIELD

This disclosure is in the field of extracellular enzymes, extracellularmatrix enzymes, proteases and immunology.

BACKGROUND

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) belong to a family of extracellularenzymes involved in forming and remodeling the extracellular matrix.These enzymes contain a conserved catalytic domain in which a zinc atomis coordinated by three histidine residues. Over members of this familyare known, organized into a number of groups including collagenases,gelatinases, stromelysins, matrilysins, enamelysins and membrane MMPs.

MMP2 and MMP9 belong to the gelatinase group of matrixmetalloproteinases. Besides containing signal peptide, propeptide,catalytic, zinc-binding and heamopexin-like domains common to most MMPs,the gelatinases also contain a plurality of fibronectin-like domains andan O-glycosylated domain.

MMPs are associated with a number of diseases. However, availableinhibitors of MMPs have been unsuccessful, in part due to toxicity andlack of efficacy. Therefore, there is a need for specific and effectiveMMP inhibitors.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides compositions and methods of useinvolving binding proteins, e.g., antibodies and antigen-bindingfragments thereof, that bind to matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9)protein (also known as gelatinase-B). The binding proteins typically areantibodies or fragments (e.g., antigen-binding fragments) thereof andtypically contain an immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain (or functionalfragment thereof) and an Ig light chain (or functional fragmentthereof). The heavy chain is typically an IgG, typically a human IgG,such as an IgG1 or IgG4, or other IgG such as an IgG2, or modifiedversion thereof. The light chain typically is a kappa chain.

Among the MMP9 binding proteins, e.g., antibodies, are those that bindspecifically to MMP9 and not to other matrix metalloproteinases. SuchMMP9 binding proteins find use in applications in which it is necessaryor desirable to obtain specific modulation (e.g., inhibition) of MMP9,e.g., without directly affecting the activity of other matrixmetalloproteinases. Thus, in certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure an anti-MMP9 antibody or fragment thereof is a specificinhibitor of the activity of MMP9. In some aspects, the MMP9 bindingproteins disclosed herein will be useful for inhibition of MMP9 whileallowing normal function of other, related matrix metalloproteinases.

The antibodies and fragments can be described with reference to theiramino acid sequences or portions thereof, and/or various functions suchas binding specificity to MMP9 or particular epitopes thereof or theability to compete for binding to epitopes on MMP9 with particularantibodies, and/or activity, such as the ability to inhibit MMP9, e.g.,non-competitively.

The antibodies and fragments include those having a heavy chain variable(VH) region having a heavy chain complementary determining region (CDR)with an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14, or SEQ IDNO: 15; those having a light chain variable (VL) region having a lightchain complementary determining region (CDR) with an amino acid sequenceof SEQ ID NO: 16, SEQ ID NO: 17, or SEQ ID NO: 18. Exemplary antibodiesand fragments include those having a heavy chain CDR1 with the aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, a heavy chain CDR2 with the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, and a heavy chain CDR3 with the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO: 15, and those having a heavy chain CDR3 of SEQ IDNO: 15. Exemplary antibodies and fragments further include those with alight chain CDR1 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16, a lightchain CDR2 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, and a lightchain CDR3 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, and thosehaving a light chain CDR3 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18,as well as those having heavy chain CDRs of SEQ ID NOs: 13, 14, and 15,and light chain CDRs of SEQ ID NOs: 16, 17, and 18.

Exemplary antibodies and fragments further include those having a heavychain CDR1 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 34, a heavy chainCDR2 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, and a heavy chainCDR3 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36, those with a heavychain CDR3 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 36, those with alight chain CDR1 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37, a lightchain CDR2 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 38, and a lightchain CDR3 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39, those with alight chain CDR3 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39, as wellas those having heavy chain CDRs of SEQ ID NOs: 34, 35, and 36, andlight chain CDRs of SEQ ID NOs: 37, 38, and 39.

Exemplary antibodies and fragments further include those having alightchain CDR1 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 42, a light chainCDR2 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 43, and a light chainCDR3 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 44, and those with alight chain CDR3 with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 44.

The antibodies and fragments further include those having a VH regionwith an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 8, and those having a VL regionwith an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 9, SEQID NO: 10. SEQ ID NO: 11, or SEQ ID NO: 12, as well as antibodies andfragments having a VH region with an amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 5, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 7, or SEQ ID NO: 8and a VL region with an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4,SEQ ID NO: 9, SEQ ID NO: 10, SEQ ID NO: 11, or SEQ ID NO: 12. In aparticular example, the antibodies or fragments have a VH region of SEQID NO: 7 and a VL region of SEQ ID NO: 12, or at least at or about 75%,80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or moresequence identity with such sequences. They further include those havinga VI region with an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 32 or47, and those with a VL region with an amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO: 33 or in SEQ ID NO: 41 or in SEQ ID NO: 48, and combinationsthereof, and sequence having at least at or about 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%,91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identitywith such sequences.

The antibodies and fragments further include those having a VH regionwith an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, and/or having aVL region with an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2, and/ora VH or VL region having at least at or about 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%,92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity withsuch sequences.

In some cases, the heavy chain is encoded by a polynucleotide having anucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:19-22 and the light chain is encoded by a polynucleotide having anucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:23-26.

In some embodiments, the antibodies or fragments thereof inhibit theenzymatic activity of MMP9, such as by non-competitive inhibition.

The antibodies and fragments further include those that specificallybind to a given epitope of MMP9. In some cases, the epitope is anepitope specifically bound by any of the above-described antibodies. Inone example, the epitope contains an amino acid residue (i.e., one ormore amino acid residue(s)) outside of cysteine-switch active pocket ofSEQ ID NO: 27. In certain examples, the epitope includes an amino acidresidue (i.e., one or more amino acid residue(s)) within a given regionof MMP9, for example, where the region is residues 104-202 of SEQ ID NO:27. In some examples, the epitope includes an amino acid residue (i.e.,one or more amino acid residue(s)) within a given region of MMP9, forexample, where the region is residues 104-119, residues 159-166, orresidues 191-202 of SEQ ID NO: 27. In one example, the epitope includesan amino acid residue (i.e., one or more amino acid residue) within aregion of MMP9 that is residues 104-119 of SEQ ID NO: 27, an amino acidresidue within a region of MMP9 that is residues 159-166 of SEQ ID NO:27, and an amino acid residue within a region of MMP9 that is residues191-202 of SEQ ID NO: 27. In some cases, the epitope includes E111,D113, R162, or I198 of SEQ ID NO: 27. In some cases, it includes R162 ofSEQ ID NO: 27. In some cases, it includes E111, D113, R162, and I198 ofSEQ ID NO: 27.

In some cases, the antibody or fragment is human or is humanized.

In some examples, the antibodies and fragments specifically bind tohuman MMP9 with a dissociation constant (K_(d)) equal to or lower than100 nM, optionally lower than 10 nM, optionally lower than 1 nM,optionally lower than 0.5 nM, optionally lower than 0.1 nM, optionallylower than 0.01 nM, or optionally lower than 0.005 nM, in certainexamples, between 0.1 and 0.2 nM, or between 0.1 and 10 μM, e.g.,between 0.4 and 9 μm, such as between 0.4 and 8.8 μm, in the form ofmonoclonal antibody, scFv, Fab, or other form of antibody measured at atemperature of about 4° C. 25° C., 37° C. or 42° C.

Also among the provided antibodies and fragments are those having atleast at or about 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%,98%, 99% or more sequence identity with any of the above-describedantibodies or containing various portions with at least at or about 75%,80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or moresequence identity with the respective portions of the antibodiesdescribed above, such as having a VII region with such identity with SEQID NO: 7 and a VL region with such identity with SEQ ID NO: 12. Alsoprovided are antibodies that compete for binding to MMP9 with any of theabove-described antibodies, such as those that compete for binding toMMP9 with an antibody having a VH region with the amino acid sequenceset forth in SEQ ID NO: 7 and a VL region with the amino acid sequenceset forth in SEQ ID NO: 12.

Also provided are isolated nucleic acids encoding the antibodies andfragments, such as nucleic acids including a coding sequence for any ofthe above-described antibodies and fragments. Among the provided nucleicacids are those containing a nucleotide sequence encoding a heavy chainpolypeptide comprising CDRs with the amino acid sequences set forth inSEQ ID NOs: 13-15, and/or a light chain polypeptide comprising CDRs withthe amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 16-18. In one example,the nucleotide sequence encodes the heavy chain polypeptide, which hasan amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1, 3, and 5-8. In another example, the nucleotide sequence encodes thelight chain polypeptide, which has an amino acid sequence selected fromthe group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 2, 4, and 9-12. In one example, thenucleotide sequence includes a sequence selected from the groupconsisting of SEQ ID NOs: 19-26, such as SEQ ID NO: 21, SEQ ID NO: 26,or SEQ ID NOs: 21 and 26. Also provided are vectors containing suchnucleic acids and cells including the same, such as host cells.

Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions including the antibodies,fragments, nucleic acids, vectors, and cells. In some examples, thepharmaceutical compositions further include a carrier or excipient, suchas a pharmaceutically acceptable or biologically acceptable carrier orexcipient. In some cases, the pharmaceutical compositions are used inthe provided therapeutic methods and uses.

Also provided are methods and uses of the antibodies, fragments, nucleicacids, vectors, cells, and compositions, for example in therapeutics,such as inhibiting MMP9 in a subject, and diagnostics, such as fordetecting MMP9 in the subject.

For example, provided are diagnostic and prognostic methods involvingdetection of MMP9, and agents (such as any of the above-describedanti-MMP9 antibodies and other MMP9 binding proteins) for use in suchmethods. In some cases, the diagnostic method detects MMP9 expression ina test sample from a subject. Such methods can be carried out, forexample, by contacting the test sample with an antibody or fragment asdescribed herein (such as any of the above-described antibodies orfragments) and detecting binding of the antibody or fragment to proteinin the sample, thereby detecting the presence of MMP9. In some cases, asample is first obtained or provided. In some examples, the methodsinclude comparing the amount or level of MMP9 detected to a controllevel or amount, such as by comparing the amount of binding detected inthe test sample with an amount of binding of the antibody or fragment toa control sample. In some cases, the methods involve simply comparing atest level and a control level of MMP9. In some cases, a higher testlevel (as compared to the control level) is indicative of the disease orcondition.

In some cases, the MMP9 detected by the method indicates the presence ofa disease or condition in the subject, such as an MMP9-associateddisease or condition. In some cases, the methods further includetreating the subject or adjusting (i.e., altering or discontinuing)treatment of the subject based on the results of the method, e.g., basedon the levels of MMP9 detected in the sample. Among the biologicalsamples are tissue, cells isolated from such tissues, and the like. Insome cases, the methods are performed on liquid samples, such as blood,plasma, serum, whole blood, saliva, urine, or semen. Tissue samplesinclude, for example, formalin-fixed or frozen tissue sections.

Also provided are methods of inhibiting MMP9 activity in a subjectand/or treating a disease or condition in the subject, for example,using an agent that non-competitively inhibits MMP9, and agents (such asany of the above-described anti-MMP9 antibodies and other MMP9 bindingproteins) for use in such methods. The methods generally are carried outby administering to the subject an MMP9 binding protein, such as anMMP9-binding antibody or fragment thereof as provided herein, e.g., inan effective amount. The antibody or fragment generally specificallybinds to and non-competitively inhibits MMP9, for example, such thatMMP9 activity is inhibited in the subject. In some cases, the antibodyor fragment is one that binds MMP9 outside of the cysteine-switch activepocket, such as in one of the epitopes described above. In some cases,the antibody or fragment does not substantially bind to an MMP proteinother than MMP9 and/or does not substantially bind to MMP2.

The subject generally is one with a disease or condition, typically oneassociated with increased or decreased MMP9 expression and/or activity.In certain cases, the subject with a disease or condition associatedwith increased MMP9 expression and/or activity. In other cases, thesubject with a disease or condition associated with decreased MMP9expression and/or activity.

Also provided are MMP9 polypeptides, including mutant MMP9 polypeptides,such as those containing residues 111-198 of SEQ ID NO: 27, and thosehaving an amino acid sequence containing residues 111-198 of SEQ ID NO:27 with an amino acid substitution at residue 111, 113, 162, or 198 ofSEQ ID NO 27, or with an amino acid substitution at all such residues.

Also provided are uses of any of the above-described antibodies, nucleicacids, vectors, cells, and compositions, in the therapeutic anddiagnostic methods described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain variable regionof a mouse monoclonal anti-MMP9 antibody (AB0041), along with the aminoacid sequences of humanized variants of heavy chain (VH1-VH4), alignedto show differences in framework amino acid sequence resulting fromhumanization. CDRs are shown in italics, and amino acids that aredifferent in the humanized variants, compared to the parent mousemonoclonal, are underlined.

FIG. 2 shows the amino acid sequence of the light chain variable regionof a mouse monoclonal anti-MMP9 antibody (AB0041), along with the aminoacid sequences of humanized variants of this light chain (VH1-VH4),aligned to show differences in framework amino acid sequence resultingfrom humanization. CDRs are shown in italics, and amino acids that aredifferent in the humanized variants, compared to the parent mousemonoclonal, are underlined.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the MMP9 protein.

FIG. 4 shows a comparison between the amino acid sequences of the heavyand light chains of antibodies designated AB0041, M4, and M12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Practice of the present disclosure employs, unless otherwise indicated,standard methods and conventional techniques in the fields of cellbiology, toxicology, molecular biology, biochemistry, cell culture,immunology, oncology, recombinant DNA and related fields as are withinthe skill of the art. Such techniques are described in the literatureand thereby available to those of skill in the art. See, for example,Alberts, B. et al., “Molecular Biology of the Cell,” 5^(th) edition,Garland Science, New York, N.Y., 2008; Voet, D. et al. “Fundamentals ofBiochemistry: Life at the Molecular Level,” 3^(rd) edition, John Wiley &Sons, Hoboken, N.J., 2008; Sambrook, J. et al., “Molecular Cloning: ALaboratory Manual,” 3 edition. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,2001; Ausubel, F. et al., “Current Protocols in Molecular Biology.” JohnWiley & Sons, New York, 1987 and periodic updates; Freshney, R. I.,“Culture of Animal Cells: A Manual of Basic Technique,” 4^(th) edition,John Wiley & Sons, Somerset, N J, 2000; and the series “Methods inEnzymology,” Academic Press, San Diego, Calif. See also, for example,“Current Protocols in Immunology,” (R. Coico, series editor), Wiley,last updated August 2010.

Certain MMPs play roles in tumor growth, metastasis, inflammation,autoimmunity, and vascular disease. See, for example, Hu et al. (2007)Nature Reviews: Drug Discovery 6:480-498. Thus, it is desirable toinhibit the activity of one or more particular MMPs in certaintherapeutic settings. While sharing significant homology at a sequencelevel, the expression and functional roles of the two gelatinases MMP9and MMP2 vary significantly. MMP9 expression is induced by a number ofdisease associated cytokines and growth factors. Also, the MMP9 knockoutmouse is protected in a variety of disease models, whereas MMP2 is moreconstitutively expressed and the MMP2 knockout animals tend towardlittle protection. Some studies have shown that MMP2 knockout mouseexhibited worse disease in challenge models. For some diseases ordisorders, the activity of more than one MMPs is inhibited. In clinicalstudies, the inhibitors to more than one MMPs have caused adverseeffects, such as toxicity or lack of efficacy, that are not desired. Ithas been shown that the activity of certain MMPs, e.g., MMP2, is oftenrequired for normal tissue homeostasis and/or is protective againstdisease. Certain available MMP inhibitors have caused side effects.

Among the provided embodiments are agents, including therapeuticreagents, such as antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof, thatspecifically inhibit the catalytic activity of a single MMP or a selectplurality of MMPs, such as MMP9 and that do not react with or inhibitcertain other MMPs or any other MMPs. Also among the providedembodiments are methods and uses of the same for treatment of variousdiseases.

MMP9 Binding Proteins

The present disclosure provides binding proteins, e.g., antibodies andfragments (e.g., antigen-binding fragments) thereof, that bind to thematrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) protein (MMP9 is also known asgelatinase-B), e.g., human MMP9, such as the human MMP9 having an aminoacid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 27 or SEQ ID NO: 28. The bindingproteins of the present disclosure generally comprise an immunoglobulin(Ig) heavy chain (or functional fragment thereof) and an Ig light chain(or functional fragment thereof).

The disclosure further provides MMP9 binding proteins that bindspecifically to MMP9 and not to other matrix metalloproteinases such asMMP1, MMP2, MMP3, MMP7. MMP9, MMP10, MMP12, and MMP13. Such specificMMP9 binding proteins are thus generally not significantly or detectablycrossreactive with non-MMP9 matrix metalloproteinases. MMP9 bindingproteins that specifically bind MMP9 find use in applications in whichit is necessary or desirable to obtain specific modulation (e.g.,inhibition) of MMP9, e.g., without directly affecting the activity ofother matrix metalloproteinases.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, an anti-MMP9 antibodyis an inhibitor of the activity of MMP9, and can be a specific inhibitorof MMP9. In one embodiment, the MMP9 binding proteins disclosed hereinis useful for inhibition of MMP9 while not affecting other matrixmetalloproteinases. “An inhibitor of MMP” or “inhibitor of MMP9activity” can be an antibody or an antigen binding fragment thereof thatdirectly or indirectly inhibits activity of MMP9, including but notlimited to enzymatic processing, inhibiting action of MMP9 on itsubstrate (e.g., by inhibiting substrate binding, substrate cleavage,and the like), and the like.

The present disclosure also provides MMP9 binding proteins thatspecifically bind to non-mouse MMP9, such as human MMP9, Cynomolgusmonkey MMP9, and rat MMP9.

The present disclosure also provides MMP9 binding proteins (e.g.,anti-MMP9 antibodies and functional fragments thereof) that act asnon-competitive inhibitors. A “non-competitive inhibitor” refers to aninhibitor binds at site away from substrate binding site of an enzyme,and thus can bind the enzyme and effect inhibitory activity regardlessof whether or not the enzyme is bound to its substrate. Thenon-competitive or allosteric inhibition is generally independent ofsubstrate association or concentration. Such non-competitive inhibitorscan, for example, provide for a level of inhibition that can besubstantially independent of substrate concentration.

MMP9 binding proteins (e.g., antibodies and functional fragmentsthereof) of the present disclosure include those that bind MMP9,particularly human MMP9, and having a heavy chain polypeptide (orfunctional fragment thereof) that has at least about 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%or more amino acid sequence identity to a heavy chain polypeptidedisclosed herein.

MMP9 binding proteins (e.g., antibodies and functional fragmentsthereof) of the present disclosure include those that bind MMP9,particularly human MMP9, and having a light polypeptide (or functionalfragment thereof) that has at least about 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or moreamino acid sequence identity to a heavy chain polypeptide disclosedherein.

MMP9 binding proteins (e.g., antibodies and functional fragmentsthereof) of the present disclosure include those that hind MMP9,particularly human MMP9, and have a heavy chain polypeptide (orfunctional fragment thereof) having the complementarity determiningregions (“CDRs”) of heavy chain polypeptide and the CDRs of a lightchain polypeptide (or functional fragment thereof) as disclosed herein.

“Homology” or “identity” or “similarity” as used herein in the contextof nucleic acids and polypeptides refers to the relationship between twopolypeptides or two nucleic acid molecules based on an alignment of theamino acid sequences or nucleic acid sequences, respectively. Homologyand identity can each be determined by comparing a position in eachsequence which may be aligned for purposes of comparison. When anequivalent position in the compared sequences is occupied by the samebase or amino acid, then the molecules are identical at that position;when the equivalent site occupied by the same or a similar amino acidresidue (e.g., similar in steric and/or electronic nature), then themolecules can be referred to as homologous (similar) at that position.Expression as a percentage of homology/similarity or identity refers toa function of the number of identical or similar amino acids atpositions shared by the compared sequences. In comparing two sequences,the absence of residues (amino acids or nucleic acids) or presence ofextra residues also decreases the identity and homology/similarity.

As used herein, “identity” means the percentage of identical nucleotideor amino acid residues at corresponding positions in two or moresequences when the sequences are aligned to maximize sequence matching,i.e., taking into account gaps and insertions. Sequences are generallyaligned for maximum correspondence over a designated region, e.g., aregion at least about 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65 or moreamino acids or nucleotides in length, and can be up to the full-lengthof the reference amino acid or nucleotide. For sequence comparison,typically one sequence acts as a reference sequence, to which testsequences are compared. When using a sequence comparison algorithm, testand reference sequences are input into a computer program, subsequencecoordinates are designated, if necessary, and sequence algorithm programparameters are designated. The sequence comparison algorithm thencalculates the percent sequence identity for the test sequence(s)relative to the reference sequence, based on the designated programparameters.

Examples of algorithms that are suitable for determining percentsequence identity are the BLAST and BLAST 2.0 algorithms, which aredescribed in Altschul et al. (1990) J. Mol. Biol. 215: 403-410 andAltschul et al. (1977) Nucleic Acids Res. 25: 3389-3402, respectively.Software for performing BLAST analyses is publicly available through theNational Center for Biotechnology Information (www.ncbi.nlmi.nih.gov).Further exemplary algorithms include ClustalW (Higgins D., et al. (1994)Nucleic Acids Res 22: 4673-4680), available atwww.cbi.ac.uk/Tools/clustalw/index.html.

Residue positions which are not identical can differ by conservativeamino acid substitutions. Conservative amino acid substitutions refer tothe interchangeability of residues having similar side chains. Forexample, a group of amino acids having aliphatic side chains is glycine,alanine, valine, leucine, and isoleucine; a group of amino acids havingaliphatic-hydroxyl side chains is serine and threonine; a group of aminoacids having amide-containing side chains is asparagine and glutamine; agroup of amino acids having aromatic side chains is phenylalanine,tyrosine, and tryptophan; a group of amino acids having basic sidechains is lysine, arginine, and histidine; and a group of amino acidshaving sulfur-containing side chains is cysteine and methionine.

Sequence identity between two nucleic acids can also be described interms of hybridization of two molecules to each other under stringentconditions. The hybridization conditions are selected following standardmethods in the art (see, for example, Sambrook, et al., MolecularCloning: A Laboratory Manual, Second Edition, (1989) Cold Spring Harbor.N.Y.). An example of stringent hybridization conditions is hybridizationat 50° C. or higher and 0.1×SSC (15 mM sodium chloride/1.5 mM sodiumcitrate). Another example of stringent hybridization conditions isovernight incubation at 42° C. in a solution: 50% formamide, 5×SSC (150mM NaCl, 15 mM trisodium citrate), 50 mM sodium phosphate (pH7.6),5×Denhardt's solution, 10% dextran sulfate, and 20 mg/ml denatured,sheared salmon sperm DNA, followed by washing the filters in 0.1×SSC atabout 65° C. Stringent hybridization conditions are hybridizationconditions that are at least as stringent as the above representativeconditions, where conditions are considered to be at least as stringentif they are at least about 80% as stringent, typically at least 90% asstringent as the above specific stringent conditions.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides, for example, antibodies orantigen binding fragments thereof, comprising a heavy chain variableregion polypeptide having at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or greater aminoacid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence of a heavy chainvariable region described herein (e.g., SEQ ID NOS:1 or 5-8), and avariable light chain polypeptide having at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, orgreater amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence of alight chain polypeptide as set forth herein (e.g., SEQ ID NOS:2 or9-12).

Examples of anti-MMP9 antibodies of the present disclosure are describedin more detail below.

Antibodies

The MMP9 binding proteins include antibodies and functional fragmentsthereof, such as those that specifically bind to MMP9. As used herein,the term “antibody” means an isolated or recombinant polypeptide bindingagent that comprises peptide sequences (e.g., variable region sequences)that specifically bind an antigenic epitope. The term is used in itsbroadest sense and specifically covers monoclonal antibodies (includingfull-length monoclonal antibodies), polyclonal antibodies, humanantibodies, humanized antibodies, chimeric antibodies, nanobodies,diabodies, multispecific antibodies (e.g., bispecific antibodies), andantibody fragments including but not limited to Fv, scFv, Fab,Fab′F(ab′)₂ and Fab₂, so long as they exhibit the desired biologicalactivity. The term “human antibody” refers to antibodies containingsequences of human origin, except for possible non-human CDR regions,and does not imply that the full structure of an immunoglobulin moleculebe present, only that the antibody has minimal immunogenic effect in ahuman (i.e., does not induce the production of antibodies to itself).

An “antibody fragment” comprises a portion of a full-length antibody,for example, the antigen binding or variable region of a full-lengthantibody. Such antibody fragments may also be referred to herein as“functional fragments: or “antigen-binding fragments”. Examples ofantibody fragments include Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)₂, and Fv fragments;diabodies; linear antibodies (Zapata et al. (1995) Protein Eng.8(10):1057-1062); single-chain antibody molecules; and multispecificantibodies formed from antibody fragments. Papain digestion ofantibodies produces two identical antigen-binding fragments, called“Fab” fragments, each with a single antigen-binding site, and a residual“Fc” fragment, a designation reflecting the ability to crystallizereadily. Pepsin treatment yields an F(ab′)₂ fragment that has twoantigen combining sites and is still capable of cross-linking antigen.

“Fv” is a minimum antibody fragment containing a completeantigen-recognition and -binding site. This region consists of a dimerof one heavy- and one light-chain variable domain in tight, non-covalentassociation. It is in this configuration that the threecomplementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of each variable domaininteract to define an antigen-binding site on the surface of theV_(H)-V_(L) dimer. Collectively, the six CDRs confer antigen-bindingspecificity to the antibody. However, even a single variable domain (oran isolated V_(H) or V_(L) region comprising only three of the six CDRsspecific for an antigen) has the ability to recognize and bind antigen,although generally at a lower affinity than does the entire F fragment.

The “Fa” fragment also contains, in addition to heavy and light chainvariable regions, the constant domain of the light chain and the firstconstant domain (CHI) of the heavy chain. Fab fragments were originallyobserved following papain digestion of an antibody. Fab′ fragmentsdiffer from Fab fragments in that F(ab′) fragments contain severaladditional residues at the carboxy terminus of the heavy chain CH₁domain, including one or more cysteines from the antibody hinge region.F(ab′)₂ fragments contain two Fab fragments joined, near the hingeregion, by disulfide bonds, and were originally observed followingpepsin digestion of an antibody. Fab′-SH is the designation herein forFab′ fragments in which the cysteine residue(s) of the constant domainsbear a free thiol group. Other chemical couplings of antibody fragmentsare also known.

The “light chains” of antibodies (immunoglobulins) from any vertebratespecies can be assigned to one of two clearly distinct types, calledkappa and lambda, based on the amino acid sequences of their constantdomains. Depending on the amino acid sequence of the constant domain oftheir heavy chains, immunoglobulins can be assigned to five majorclasses: IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM, and several of these may befurther divided into subclasses (isotypes), e.g., IgG1, IgG2, IgG3,IgG4, IgA1, and IgA2.

“Single-chain Fv” or “sFv” or “scFv” antibody fragments comprise theV_(H) and V_(L) domains of antibody, wherein these domains are presentin a single polypeptide chain. In some embodiments, the Fv polypeptidefurther comprises a polypeptide linker between the V_(H) and V_(L)domains, which enables the sFv to form the desired structure for antigenbinding. For a review of sFv, see Pluckthun, in The Pharmacology ofMonoclonal Antibodies, vol. 113 (Rosenburg and Moore eds.)Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 269-315 (1994).

The term “diabodies” refers to small antibody fragments with twoantigen-binding sites, which fragments comprise a heavy-chain variabledomain (V_(H)) connected to a light-chain variable domain (V_(L)) in thesame polypeptide chain (V_(H)-V_(L)). By using a linker that is tooshort to allow pairing between the two domains on the same chain, thedomains are forced to pair with the complementary domains of anotherchain, thereby creating two antigen-binding sites. Diabodies areadditionally described, for example, in EP 404,097; WO 93/11161 andHollinger et al. (993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:6444-6448.

An “isolated” antibody is one that has been identified and separatedand/or recovered from a component of its natural environment. Componentsof its natural environment may include enzymes, hormones, and otherproteinaceous or nonproteinaceous solutes. In some embodiments, anisolated antibody is purified (1) to greater than 95% by weight ofantibody as determined by the Lowry method, for example, more than 99%by weight, (2) to a degree sufficient to obtain at least 15 residues ofN-terminal or internal amino acid sequence, e.g., by use of a spinningcup sequenator, or (3) to homogeneity by gel electrophoresis (e.g.,SDS-PAGE) under reducing or nonreducing conditions, with detection byCoomassie blue or silver stain. The term “isolated antibody” includes anantibody in situ within recombinant cells, since at least one componentof the antibody's natural environment will not be present. In certainembodiments, isolated antibody is prepared by at least one purificationstep.

As used herein, “immunoreactive” refers to antibodies or fragmentsthereof that are specific to a sequence of amino acid residues (“bindingsite” or “epitope”), yet if are cross-reactive to otherpeptides/proteins, are not toxic at the levels at which they areformulated for administration to human use. “Epitope” refers to thatportion of an antigen capable of forming a binding interaction with anantibody or antigen binding fragment thereof. An epitope can be a linearpeptide sequence (i.e., “continuous”) or can be composed ofnoncontiguous amino acid sequences (i.e., “conformational” or“discontinuous”). The term “preferentially binds” means that the bindingagent binds to the binding site with greater affinity than it bindsunrelated amino acid sequences.

Anti-MMP9 antibodies can be described in terms of the CDRs of the heavyand light chains. As used herein, the term “CDR” or “complementaritydetermining region” is intended to mean the non-contiguous antigencombining sites found within the variable region of both heavy and lightchain polypeptides. These particular regions have been described byKabat et al., J. Biol. Chem. 252:6609-6616 (1977); Kabat et al., U.S.Dept. of Health and Human Services, “Sequences of proteins ofimmunological interest” (1991); by Chothia et al., J. Mol. Biol.196:901-917 (1987); and MacCallum et al., J. Mol. Biol. 262:732-745(1996), where the definitions include overlapping or subsets of aminoacid residues when compared against each other. Nevertheless,application of either definition to refer to a CDR of an antibody orgrafted antibodies or variants thereof is intended to be within thescope of the term as defined and used herein. The amino acid residueswhich encompass the CDRs as defined by each of the above citedreferences are set forth below in Table 1 as a comparison.

TABLE 1 CDR Definitions Kabat¹ Chothia² MacCallum³ V_(H) CDR1 31-3526-32 30-35 V_(H) CDR2 50-65 53-55 47-58 V_(H) CDR3  95-102  96-101 93-101 V_(L) CDR1 24-34 26-32 30-36 V_(L) CDR2 50-56 50-52 46-55 V_(L)CDR3 89-97 91-96 89-96 ¹Residue numbering follows the nomenclature ofKabat et al., supra ²Residue numbering follows the nomenclature ofChothia et al., supra ³Residue numbering follows the nomenclature ofMacCallum et al., supra

As used herein, the term “framework” when used in reference to anantibody variable region is intended to mean all amino acid residuesoutside the CDR regions within the variable region of an antibody. Avariable region framework is generally a discontinuous amino acidsequence between about 100-120 amino acids in length but is intended toreference only those amino acids outside of the CDRs. As used herein,the term “framework region” is intended to mean each domain of theframework that is separated by the CDRs.

In some embodiments, an antibody is a humanized antibody or a humanantibody. Humanized antibodies include human immununoglobulins(recipient antibody) in which residues from a complementary-determiningregion (CDR) of the recipient are replaced by residues from a CDR of anon-human species (donor antibody) such as mouse, rat or rabbit havingthe desired specificity, affinity and capacity. Thus, humanized forms ofnon-human (e.g., murine) antibodies are chimeric immunoglobulins whichcontain minimal sequence derived from non-human immunoglobulin. Thenon-human sequences are located primarily in the variable regions,particularly in the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs). In someembodiments, Fv framework residues of the human immunoglobulin arereplaced by corresponding non-human residues. Humanized antibodies canalso comprise residues that are found neither in the recipient antibodynor in the imported CDR or framework sequences. In certain embodiments,a humanized antibody comprises substantially all of at least one, andtypically two, variable domains, in which all or substantially all ofthe CDRs correspond to those of a non-human immunoglobulin and all orsubstantially all of the framework regions are those of a humanimmunoglobulin consensus sequence. For the purposes of the presentdisclosure, humanized antibodies can also include immunoglobulinfragments, such as Fv, Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)₂ or other antigen-bindingsubsequences of antibodies.

The humanized antibody can also comprise at least a portion of animmunoglobulin constant region (Fc), typically that of a humanimmunoglobulin. See, for example, Jones et al. (1986) Nature321:522-525; Riechmann et al. (1988) Nature 332:323-329; and Presta(1992) Curr. Op. Struct. Biol. 2:593-596.

Methods for humanizing non-human antibodies are known in the art.Generally, a humanized antibody has on or more amino acid residuesintroduced into it from a source that is non-human. These non-humanamino acid residues are often referred to as “import” or “donor”residues, which are typically obtained from an “import” or “donor”variable domain. For example, humanization can be performed essentiallyaccording to the method of Winter and co-workers, by substituting rodentCDRs or CDR sequences for the corresponding sequences of a humanantibody. See, for example, Jones et al., supra; Riechmann et al., supraand Verhoeyen et al. (1988) Science 239:1534-1536. Accordingly, such“humanized” antibodies include chimeric antibodies (U.S. Pat. No.4,816,567), wherein substantially less than an intact human variabledomain has been substituted by the corresponding sequence from anon-human species. In certain embodiments, humanized antibodies arehuman antibodies in which some CDR residues and optionally someframework region residues are substituted by residues from analogoussites in rodent antibodies (e.g., murine monoclonal antibodies).

Human antibodies can also be produced, for example, by using phagedisplay libraries. Hoogenboom et al. (1991) J. Mol. Biol, 227:381; Markset al. (1991) J. Mol. Biol. 222:581. Other methods for preparing humanmonoclonal antibodies are described by Cole et al. (1985) “MonoclonalAntibodies and Cancer Therapy,” Alan R. Liss, p. 77 and Boemer et al.(1991) J. Immunol. 147:86-95.

Human antibodies can be made by introducing human immunoglobulin lociinto transgenic animals (e.g., mice) in which the endogenousimmunoglobulin genes have been partially or completely inactivated. Uponimmunological challenge, human antibody production is observed, whichclosely resembles that seen in humans in all respects, including generearrangement, assembly, and antibody repertoire. This approach isdescribed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,545,807; 5,545,806;5,569,825; 5,625,126; 5,633,425; 5,661,016, and in the followingscientific publications: Marks et al. (1992) Bio/Technology 10:779-783(1992); Lonberg et al. (1994) Nature 368: 856-859; Morrison (1994)Nature 368:812-813; Fishwald et al. (1996) Nature Biotechnology14:845-851; Neuberger (1996) Nature Biotechnology 14:826; and Lonberg etal. (1995) Intern. Rev. Immunol. 13:65-93.

Antibodies can be affinity matured using known selection and/ormutagenesis methods as described above. In some embodiments, affinitymatured antibodies have an affinity which is five times or more, tentimes or more, twenty times or more, or thirty times or more than thatof the starting antibody (generally murine, rabbit, chicken, humanizedor human) from which the matured antibody is prepared.

An antibody can also be a bispecific antibody. Bispecific antibodies aremonoclonal, and may be human or humanized antibodies that have bindingspecificities for at least two different antigens. In the present case,the two different binding specificities can be directed to two differentMMPs, or to two different epitopes on a single MMP (e.g., MMP9).

An antibody as disclosed herein can also be an immunoconjugate. Suchimmunoconjugates comprise an antibody (e.g., to MMP9) conjugated to asecond molecule, such as a reporter An immunoconjugate can also comprisean antibody conjugated to a cytotoxic agent such as a chemotherapeuticagent, a toxin (e.g., an enzymatically active toxin of bacterial,fungal, plant, or animal origin, or fragments thereof), or a radioactiveisotope (i.e., a radioconjugate).

An antibody that “specifically binds to” or is “specific for” aparticular polypeptide or an epitope refers to the selective binding ofthe antibody to the target antigen or epitope; these terms, and methodsfor determining specific binding, are well understood in the art. Anantibody exhibits “specific binding” for a particular target antigen orepitope if it binds with greater affinity, avidity, more readily, and/orwith greater duration to that target antigen or epitope than it doeswith other substances. In some embodiments, the antibody thatspecifically binds to the polypeptide or epitope is one that that bindsto that particular polypeptide or epitope without substantially bindingto any other polypeptide or polypeptide epitope.

In some embodiments, the provided antibodies specifically bind to humanMMP9 with a dissociation constant (K_(d)) equal to or lower than 10 nM,optionally lower than 10 nM, optionally lower than 1 nM, optionallylower than 0.5 nM, optionally lower than 0.1 nM, optionally lower than0.01 nM, or optionally lower than 0.005 nM, in certain examples, between0.1 and 0.2 nM, or between 0.1 and 10 pM, e.g., between 0.4 and 9 μm,such as between 0.4 and 8.8 μm, in the form of monoclonal antibody,scFv, Fab, or other form of antibody measured at a temperature of about4° C., 25° C., 37° C. or 42° C.

In certain embodiments, an antibody of the present disclosure binds toone or more processing sites (e.g., sites of proteolytic cleavage) inMMP9, thereby effectively blocking processing of the proenzyme orpreproenzyme to the catalytically active enzyme, and thus reducing theproteolytic activity of the MMP9.

In certain embodiments, an antibody according to the present disclosurebinds to MMP9 with an affinity at least 2 times, at least 5 times, atleast 10 times, at least 25 times, at least 50 times, at least 100times, at least 500 times, or at least 1000 times greater than itsbinding affinity for another MMP. Binding affinity can be measured byany method known in the art and can be expressed as, for example,on-rate, off-rate, dissociation constant (K_(d)), equilibrium constant(K_(eq)) or any term in the art.

In certain embodiments, an antibody according to the present disclosureis one that inhibits the enzymatic (i.e., catalytic) activity of MMP9,such as a non-competitive inhibitor of the catalytic activity of MMP9.In certain embodiments, an antibody according to the present disclosurebinds within the catalytic domain of MMP9. In additional embodiments, anantibody according to the present disclosure binds outside the catalyticdomain of MMP9.

Also provided are antibodies or antigen binding fragments thereof thatcompete with any one or more of the anti-MMP9 antibodies or antigenbinding fragments thereof described herein for binding to MMP9. Thus,the present disclosure contemplates anti-MMP9 antibodies, and functionalfragments thereof, that compete for binding with, for example, anantibody having a heavy chain polypeptide of any of SEQ ID NOS: 1 or5-8, a light chain polypeptide of SEQ ID NOS: 2 or 9-12, or combinationsthereof. In one embodiment, the anti-MMP9 antibody, or functionalfragment thereof, competes for binding to human MMP9 with the antibodydescribed herein as AB0041.

Epitope Binding

Also provided are antibodies and fragments thereof that bind to the sameepitope, e.g., MMP9 epitope as any one or more of the antibodiesdescribed herein. Also provided are antibodies and fragments thatspecifically bind to an epitope of MMP9, where the epitope includes anamino acid residue within a particular region of MMP9 or multipleregions of MMP9. Such regions can include, for example, structural loopsand/or other structural domains of MMP9, such as those shown to beimportant for binding to exemplary antibodies described herein.Typically, the regions are defined according to amino acid residuepositions on the full-length MMP9 sequence, e.g., SEQ ID NO: 27. In someexamples, the epitope is outside of cysteine-switch active pocket of SEQID NO: 27. In some example, the epitope contains an amino acid residue(i.e., one or more amino acid residue(s)) within a region that isresidues 104-202 of SEQ ID NO: 27. In one example, the epitope containsan amino acid residue (i.e., one or more amino acid residue(s)) within aregion that is residues 104-119, residues 159-166, or residues 191-202of SEQ ID NO: 27. In some aspects, the epitope includes an amino acidresidue (i.e., one or more amino acid residue(s)) within a region ofMMP9 that is residues 104-119 of SEQ ID NO: 27, an amino acid residuewithin a region of MMP9 that is residues 159-166 of SEQ ID NO: 27, andan amino acid residue within a region of MMP9 that is residues 191-202of SEQ ID NO: 27. In some cases, the epitope includes E111, D113, R162,or I198 of SEQ ID NO: 27. In some cases, it includes R162 of SEQ ID NO:27. In some cases, it includes E111, D113, R162, and I198 of SEQ ID NO:27.

MMP9 Sequence

The amino acid sequence of human MMP9 protein is as follows:

(SEQ ID NO: 27)MSLWQPLVLV LLVLGCCFAA PPQRQSTLVL FPGDLRTNLT DRQLAEEYLY  50RYGYTRVAEM RGESKSLGPA LLLLQKQLSL PETGELDSAT LKAMRTPRCG 100VPDLGRFQTF EGDLKWHHHN ITYWIQNYSE DLPRAVIDDA FARAFALWSA 150VTPLTFTRVY SRDADIVIQF GVAEHGDGYP FDGKDGLLAH AFFPGPGIQG 200DAHFDDDELW SLGKGVVVPT RFGNADGAAC HFPFIFEGRS YSACTTDGRS 250DGLPWCSTTA NYDTDDRFGF CPSERLYTRD GNADGKPCQF PFIFQGQSYS 300ACTTDGRSDG YRWCATTANY DRDKLFGFCP TRADSTVMGG NSAGELCVFP 350FTFLGKEYST CTSEGRGDGP LWCATTSNFD SDKKWGFCPD QGYSLFLVAA 400HEFGHALGLD HSSVPEALMY PMYRFTEGPP LHKDDVNGIR HLYGPRPEPE 450PRPPITTTPQ PTAPPTVCPT GPPTVHPSER PTAGPTGPPS AGPTGPPTAG 500PSTATTVPLS PVDDACNVNI FDATAEIGNQ LYLFKDGKYW RFSEGRGSRP 550QGPFLIADKW PALPRKLDSV FEEPLSKKLF FFSGRQVWVY TGASVLGPRR 600LDKLGLGADV AQVTGALRSG RGKMLLFSGR RLWRFDVKAQ MVDPRSASEV 650DRMFPGVPLD THDVFQYREK AYFCQDRFYW RVSSRSELNQ VDQVGYVTYD 700 ILQCPED

Protein domains are shown schematically in FIG. 3 and are indicatedbelow:

Amino Acid # Feature  1-19 Signal Peptide 38-98 Peptidoglycan BindingDomain R98/C99 Cysteine-switch active pocket 112-445 Zn dependentmetalloproteinase domain 223-271 Fibronectin type II domain (gelatinbinding domain) 281-329 Fibronectin type II domain (gelatin bindingdomain) 340-388 Fibronectin type II domain (gelatin binding domain)400-411 Zn binding region 521-565 Hemopexin-like domain 567-608Hemopexin-like domain 613-659 Hemopexin-like domain 661-704Hemopexin-like domain

The amino acid sequence of mature full-length human MMP9 (which is theamino acid sequence of the propolypeptide of SEQ ID NO:27 without thesignal peptide) is:

(SEQ ID NO: 28) APRQRQSTLVL FPGDLRTNLT DRQLAEEYLY RYGYTRVAEMRGESKSLGPA ILLLQKQLSL PETGELDSAT LKAMRTPRCGVPDLGREQTE EGDLKWHHHN ITYWIQNYSE DLPRAVIDDAFARAFALWSA VTPLTFTRVY SRDADIVIQF GVAEHGDGYPFDGKDGLLAH AFPPGPGIQG DAEFDDDELW SLGEGVVVPTRFGNADaAAC HFPFIFEGRS YSACTTDGRS DGLPWCSTTANYDTDDRFGF CPSERLYTPD GNADGKPCQF PFIFQGQSYSACTTDGRSDG YRWCATTANY DRDKLFGFCP TRADSTVMGGNSAGELCVFP FTFLGKEYST CTSEGRGDGR LWCATTSNFDSDKKWGFCPD QGYSLFLVAA HEFGHALGLD HSSVPEALMYPMYRFTEGPP LHKDDVNGIR HLYGPRPEPE PRPPTTTTPQPTAPPTVCPT GPPTVHPSER PTAGPTGPPS AGPTGPPTAGPSTATTVPLS PVDDACNVNI FDAIAEIGNQ LYLFKDGKYWRFSEGRGSRP QGPFLIADKW PALPRKLDSV FEEPLSKKLFFFSGRQVWVY TGASVLGPRR LDKLGLGADV AQVTGALRSGRGKMLLFSGR RLWRFDVKAQ MVDPRSASEV DRMFPGVPLDTHDVFQYREK AYECQDREYW RVSSRSELNQ VDQVGYVTYD ILQCPED

The amino acid sequence of the signal peptide is MSLWQPLVLV LLVLGCCFA(SEQ ID NO:29).

Also provided are MMP9 polypeptides, including mutant MMP9 polypeptides.Such peptides are useful, for example, in generating and selectingantibodies and fragments as provided herein. Exemplary polypeptidesinclude those having an amino acid sequence containing residues 104-202of SEQ ID NO: 27, and those having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:27 with an amino acid substitution at residue 111, 113, 162, or 198 ofSEQ ID NO 27 or with an amino acid substitution at all such residues.Other exemplary polypeptides include those having an amino acid sequencecontaining residues 111-198 of SEQ ID NO: 27, and those having an aminoacid sequence containing residues 111-198 of SEQ ID NO: 27 with an aminoacid substitution at residue 111, 113, 162, or 198 of SEQ ID NO 27 orwith an amino acid substitution at all such residues. Such polypeptidesfind use, for example, in selecting antibodies that bind to epitopescontaining such residues and/or for which such residues of MMP9 areimportant for binding, such as those described herein.

The present disclosure contemplates MMP9 binding proteins that bind anyportion of MMP9, e.g., human MMP9, with MMP9 binding proteins thatpreferentially bind MMP9 relative to other MMPs being of particularinterest.

Anti-MMP9 antibodies, and functional fragments thereof, can be generatedaccordingly to methods well known in the art. Exemplary anti-MMP9antibodies are provided below.

Mouse Monoclonal Anti-MMP9 Antibodies

A mouse monoclonal antibody to human MMP9 was obtained as described inExample 1. This antibody contains a mouse IgG2b heavy chain and a mousekappa light chain, and is denoted AB0041.

The amino acid sequence of the AB0041 heavy chain is as follows:

(SEQ ID NO: 1) MAVLVLFLCLVAFPSCVLSQVQLKESGPGLVAPSQSLSITCTVSGFSLLSYGVHWVRQPPGKGLEWLGVIWTGGTTNYNSALMSRLSISKDDSKSQVFLKMNSLQTDDTAIYYCARYYYGMDYWGQGTSVTVSSAKTTPPSVYPLAPGCGDTTGSSVTLGCLVKGYFPESVTVTWNSGSLSSSVHTFPALLQSGLYTMSSSVTVPSSTWPSQTVTCSVAHPASSTTVDKKLEPSGPISTINPCPPCKECHKCPAPNLEGGPSVFIFPPNIKDVLMISLTPKVTCVVVDVSEDDPDVRISWFVNNVEVHTAQTQTHREDYNSTIRVVSALPIQHQDWMSGKEFKCKVNNKDLPSPIERTISKIKGLVRAPQVYILPPPAEQLSRKDVSLTCLVVGFNPGDISVEWTSNGHTEENYKDTAPVLDSDGSYFIYSKLDIKTSKWEKTDSFSCNVR HEGLKNYYLKKTISRSPGK

The signal sequence is underlined, and the sequence of the IgG2bconstant region is presented italics.

The amino acid sequence of the AB0041 light chain is as follows:

(SEQ ID NO: 2) MESQIQVFVFVFLWLSGVDGDIVMTQSHKFMSTSVGDRVSITCKASQDVRNTVAWYQQKTGQSPKLLIYSSSYRNTGVPDRFTGSGSGTDFTFTISSVQAEDLAVYFCQQHYITPYTFGGGTKLEIKRADAAPTVSIFPPSSEQLTSGGASVVCFLNNFYPKDINVKWKIDGSERQNGVLNSWTDQDSKDSTYSMSSTLTLTKDE YERHNSYTCEATHKTSPIVKSFNRNEC

The signal sequence is underlined, and the sequence of the kappaconstant region is presented in italics.

The following amino acid sequence comprises the framework regions andcomplementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of the variable region of theIgG2b heavy chain of AB0041 (with CDRs underlined):

(SEQ ID NO: 3) QVQLKESGPGLVAPSQSLSITCTVSGFSLLSYGVIIWVRQPPGKGLEWLGVIWTGGTTNYNSALMSRLSISKDDSKSQVFLKMNSLQTDDTAIYYCARYYYGMDYWGQGTSVTVSS

The following amino acid sequence comprises the framework regions andcomplementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of the variable region of thekappa light chain of AB0041 (with CDRs underlined):

(SEQ ID NO: 4) DIVMTQSHKFMSTSVGDRVSITCKASQDVRNTVAWYQQKTGQSPKLLIYSSSYRNTGVPDRFTGSGSGTDFTFTISSVQAED LAVYFCQQHYITPYTFGGGTKLEIK Other exemplary mouse anti-human MMP9 antibodies (e.g., M4 and M12) aredescribed in Example 1B. An exemplary anti-mouse MMP9 antibody (AB0046)is described in Example 1C. Other exemplary mouse anti-human MMP9antibodies include antibodies comprise the variable regions having thesequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, and the constant regions having 95% similarityas the sequences of the IgG2b constant regions. In addition, theexemplary mouse anti-human MMP9 antibodies include antibodies comprisethe variable regions having the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, and theconstant regions having 95% similarity as the sequences of the IgG2bconstant regions. Other exemplary mouse anti-human MMP9 antibodiesinclude antibodies comprise the variable regions having the sequences ofSEQ ID NOs: 3 and 4, and the constant regions having 95% similarity asthe sequences of the IgG2b constant regions. Such anti-mouse antibodiesare suitable for testing and assessing the MMP9-inhibition methods.

Heavy-Chain Variants

The amino acid sequences of the variable regions of the AB0041 heavy andlight chains were separately modified, by altering framework regionsequences in the heavy and light chain variable regions. The effect ofthese sequence alterations was to deplete the antibody of human T-cellepitopes, thereby reducing or abolishing its immunogenicity in humans.

Four heavy-chain variants were constructed, in a human IgG4 heavy chainbackground containing a S241P amino acid change that stabilizes thehinge domain (Angal et al. (1993) Molec. Immunol. 30:105-108), and aredenoted VH1, VH2, VH3 and VH4. The amino acid sequences of theirframework regions and CDRs are as follows:

VH1 (SEQ ID NO: 5) QVQLQESGPGLVKPSETLSLTCTVSGFSLLSYGVIIWVRQPPGKGLEWLGVIWTGGTTNYNSALMSRLTISKDDSKSTVYLKMNSLKTEDTAIYYCARYYYGMDYWGQGTSVTVSS VH2 (SEQ ID NO: 6)QVQLQESGPGLVKPSETLSLTCTVSGFSLLSYGVHWVRQPPGKGLEWLGVIWTGGTTNYNSALMSRLTISKDDSKNTVYLKMNSLKTEDTAIYYCARYYYGMDYWGQGTLVTVSS VH3 (SEQ ID NO: 7)QVQLQESGPGLVKPSETLSLTCTVSGFSLLSYGVHWVRQPPGKGLEWLGVIWTGGTTNYNSALMSRFTISKDDSKNTVYLKMNSLKTEDTAIYYCARYYYGMDYWGQGTLVTVSS VH4 (SEQ ID NO: 8)QVQLQESGPGLVKPSETLSLTCTVSGFSLLSYGVHWVRQPPGKGLEWLGVIWTGGTTNYNSALMSRFTISKDDSKNTLYLKMNSLKTEDTAIYYCARYYYGMDYWGQGTLVTVSS

FIG. 1 shows an alignment of the amino acid sequences of the variableregions of the humanized heavy chains and indicates the differences inamino acid sequences in the framework regions among the four variants.

Light-Chain Variants

Four light-chain variants were constructed, in a human kappa chainbackground, and are denoted Vk1, Vk2, Vk3 and Vk4. The amino acidsequences of their framework regions and CDRs are as follows:

Vk1 (SEQ ID NO: 9) DIVMTQSPSFLSASVGDRVTITCKASQDVRNTVAWYQQKTGKAPKLLIYSSSYRNTGVPDRFTGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQA EDVAVYFCQQHYITPYTFGGGTKVEIK Vk2 (SEQ ID NO: 10) DIVMTQSPSSLSASVGDRVTITCKASQDVRNTVAWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYSSSYRNTGVPDRFTGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQA EDVAVYFCQQHYITPYTFGGGTKVEIK Vk3(SEQ ID NO: 11) DIQMTQSPSSLSASVGDRVTITCKASQDVRNTVAWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYSSSYRNTGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQA EDVAVYFCQQHYITPYTFGGGTKVEIK Vk4(SEQ ID NO: 12) DIQMTQSPSSLSASVGDRVTITCKASQDVRNTVAWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYSSSYRNTGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQA EDVAVYYCQQHYITPYTFGGGTKVELK

FIG. 2 shows an alignment of the amino acid sequences of the variableregions of the humanized light chains and indicates the differences inamino acid sequences in the framework regions among the four variants.

The humanized heavy and light chains are combined in all possiblepair-wise combinations to generate a number of functional humanizedanti-MMP9 antibodies. For example, provided are antibodies with a heavychain variable (VH) region having the amino acid sequence set forth inany of SEQ ID NOs: 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8; antibodies having a light chainvariable (VL) region having the amino acid sequence set forth in any ofSEQ ID NOs: 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12; and antibodies with a heavy chainvariable (VH) region having the amino acid sequence set forth in any ofSEQ ID NOs: 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 and a light chain variable (VL) regionhaving the amino acid sequence set forth in any of SEQ ID NOs: 4, 9, 10,11, and 12, as well as antibodies that compete for binding to MMP9 withsuch antibodies and antibodies having at least at or about 75%, 80%,85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more sequenceidentity with such antibodies. In one example, the antibody has a VIIregion with an amino acid sequence having at least at or about 75%, 80%,85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more sequenceidentity with SEQ ID NO: 7 and a VL region with an amino acid sequencehaving at least at or about 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%,96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 12, or a VHregion of SEQ ID NO: 7 and a VI region of SEQ ID NO: 12.

Additional heavy chain variable region amino acid sequences having 75%or more, 80% or more, 90% or more, 95% or more, or 99% or more homologyto the heavy chain variable region sequences disclosed herein are alsoprovided. Furthermore, additional light chain variable region amino acidsequences having 75% or more, 80% or more, 90% or more, 95% or more, or99% or more homology to the light chain variable region sequencesdisclosed herein are also provided.

Additional heavy chain variable region amino acid sequences having 75%or more, 80% or more, 90% or more, 95% or more, or 99% or more sequenceidentity to the heavy chain variable region sequences disclosed hereinare also provided. Furthermore, additional light chain variable regionamino acid sequences having 75% or more, 80% or more, 90% or more, 95%or more, or 99% or more sequence identity to the light chain variableregion sequences disclosed herein are also provided.

Complementarity-Determining Regions (CDRs)

In some embodiments, the CDRs of the heavy chain of exemplary providedanti-MMP9 antibodies as disclosed herein have the following amino acidsequences:

CDR1: (SEQ ID NO: 13) GFSLLSYGVH CDR2: (SEQ ID NO: 14) VIWTGGTTNYNSALMSCDR3: (SEQ ID NO: 15) YYYGMDY

Thus, among the provided anti-MMP9 antibodies are antibodies having aheavy chain CDR1 region with an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQID NO: 13, antibodies having a heavy chain CDR2 region with an aminoacid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 14, and antibodies having a heavychain CDR3 region with an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:15, and antibodies that compete for binding with or bind to the sameepitope on MMP9 as such antibodies. In some cases, the antibodiescontain VH CDRs having the sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 13, 14, and15.

In some embodiments, the CDRs of the light chain of exemplary anti-MMP9antibodies as disclosed herein have the following amino acid sequences:

CDR1: (SEQ ID NO: 16) KASQDVRNTVA CDR2: (SEQ ID NO: 17) SSSYRNT CDR3:(SEQ ID NO: 18) QQHYITPYT

Thus, among the provided anti-MMP9 antibodies are antibodies having alight chain CDR1 region with an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQID NO: 16, antibodies having a light chain CDR2 region with an aminoacid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 17, and antibodies having a lightchain CDR3 region with an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:18, and antibodies that compete for binding with or bind to the sameepitope on MMP9 as such antibodies. In some cases, the antibodiescontain VL CDRs having the sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 16, 17, and18.

Nucleic Acids Encoding Anti-MMP9 Antibodies

The present disclosure provides nucleic acids encoding anti-MMP9antibodies and functional fragments thereof. Accordingly, the presentdisclosure provides an isolated polynucleotide (nucleic acid) encodingan antibody or antigen-binding fragment as described herein, vectorscontaining such polynucleotides, and host cells and expression systemsfor transcribing and translating such polynucleotides into polypeptides.

The present disclosure also contemplates constructs in the form ofplasmids, vectors, transcription or expression cassettes which compriseat least one polynucleotide as above.

The present disclosure also provides a recombinant host cell whichcomprises one or more constructs as above, as well as methods ofproduction of the antibody or antigen-binding fragments thereofdescribed herein which method comprises expression of nucleic acidencoding a heavy chain polypeptide and a light chain polypeptide (in thesame or different host cells, and from the same or different constructs)in a recombination host cell. Expression can be achieved by culturingunder appropriate conditions recombinant host cells containing thenucleic acid. Following production by expression, an antibody orantigen-binding fragment can be isolated and/or purified using anysuitable technique, then used as appropriate.

Systems for cloning and expression of a polypeptide in a variety ofdifferent host cells are well known. Suitable host cells includebacteria, mammalian cells, yeast and baculovirus systems. Mammalian celllines available in the art for expression of a heterologous polypeptideinclude Chinese hamster ovary cells, HeLa cells, baby hamster kidneycells, NSO mouse melanoma cells and many others. A common bacterial hostis E. coli.

Suitable vectors can be chosen or constructed, containing appropriateregulatory sequences, including operably linked promoter sequences,terminator sequences, polyadenylation sequences, enhancer sequences,marker genes and/or other sequences as appropriate. Vectors can beplasmids, viral e.g. ‘phage, or phagemid, as appropriate. For furtherdetails see, for example, Molecular Cloning: a Laboratory Manual: 2ndedition, Sambrook et al., 1989, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.Many known techniques and protocols for manipulation of nucleic acid,for example in preparation of nucleic acid constructs, mutagenesis,sequencing, introduction of DNA into cells and gene expression, andanalysis of proteins, are described in detail in Short Protocols inMolecular Biology, Second Edition, Ausubel et al. eds., John Wiley &Sons, 1992. The disclosures of Sambrook et al. and Ausubel et al. areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide of interest is integrated intothe genome of the host cell or can be maintained as a stable ortransient episomal element.

Any of a wide variety of expression control sequences—sequences thatcontrol the expression of a DNA sequence operatively linked to it—can beused in these vectors to express the DNA sequences. For example, anucleic acid encoding a polypeptide of interest can be operably linkedto a promoter, and provided in an expression construct for use inmethods of production of recombinant MMP9 proteins or portions thereof.

Those of skill in the art are aware that nucleic acids encoding theantibody chains disclosed herein can be synthesized using standardknowledge and procedures in molecular biology.

Examples of nucleotide sequences encoding the heavy and light chainamino acid sequences disclosed herein, are as follows:

VH1: (SEQ ID NO: 19) CAGGTGCAGC TGCAGGAATC CGGCCCTGGC CTGGTCAAGCCCTCCGAGAC ACTGTCCCTC ACCTGCACCG TGTCCGGCTTCTCCCTGCTG TCCTACGGCG TGCACTGGGT CCGACAGCCTCCAGGGAAGG GCCTGGAATG GCTGGGCGTG ATCTGGACCGGCGGCACCAC CAACTACAAC TCCGCCCTGA TGTCCCGGCTGACCATCTCC AAGGACGACT CCAAGTCCAC CGTGTACCTGAAGATGAACT CCCTGAAAAC CGAGGACACC GCCATCTACTACTGCGCCCG GTACTACTAC GGCATGGACT ACTGGGGCCA GGGCACCTCC GTGACCGTGT CCTCAVH2: (SEQ ID NO: 20) CAGGTGCAGC TGCAGGAATC CGGCCCTGGC CTGGTCAAGCCCTCCGAGAC ACTGTCCCTG ACCTGCACCG TGTCCGGCTTCTCCCTGCTG TCCTACGGCG TGCACTGGGT CCGACAGCCTCCAGGCAAAG GCCTGGAATG GCTGGGCGTG ATCTGGACCGGCGGCACCAC CAACTACAAC TCCGCCCTGA TGTCCCGGCTGACCATCTCC AAGGACGACT CCAAGAACAC CGTGTACCTGAAGATGAACT CCCTGAAAAC CGAGGACACC GCCATCTACTACTGCGCCCG GTACTACTAC GGCATGGACT ACTGGGGCCA GGGCACCCTG GTCACCGTGT CCTCAVH3: (SEQ ID NO: 21) CAGGTGCACC TGCAGGAATC CGGCCCTCGC CTGGTCAAGCCCTCCGAGAC ACTGTCCCTG ACCTGCACCG TGTCCGGCTTCTCCCTGCTG TCCTACGGCG TGCACTGGGT CCGACAGCCTCCAGGCAAAG GCCTGGAATG GCTGGGCGTG ATCTGGACCGGCGGCACCAC CAACTACAAC TCCGCCCTGA TGTCCCGGTTCACCATCTCC AAGGACGACT CCAAGAACAC CGTGTACCTGAAGATGAACT CCCTGAAAAC CGAGGACACC GCCATCTACTACTGCGCCCG GTACTACTAC GGCATGGACT ACTGGGGCCA GGGCACCCTG GTCACCGTGT CCTCAVH4: (SEQ ID NO: 22) CAGGTGCAGC TGCAGGAATC CGGCCCTGGC CTGGTCAAGCCCTCCGAGAC ACTGTCCCTG ACCTGCACCG TGTCCGGCTTCTCCCTGCTG TCCTACGGCG TGCACTGGGT CCGAGAGCCTCCAGGCAAAG GCCTGGAATG GCTGGGCGTG ATCTGGACCGGCGGCACCAC CAACTACAAC TCCGCCCTGA TGTCCCGGTTCACCATCTCC AAGGACGACT CCAAGAACAC CCTGTACCTGAAGATGAACT CCCTGAAAAC CGAGGACACC GGCATCTACTACTGCGCCCG GTACTACTAC GGCATGGACT ACTGGGGCCA GGGCACCCTG GTCACCGTGT CCTCAVk1: (SED ID NO: 23) GACATCGTGA TGACCCAGTC CCCCAGCTTC CTGTCCGCCTCCGTGGGCGA CAGAGTGACC ATCAGATGCA AGGCCTCTCAGGACGTGCGG AACACCGTGG CCTGGTATCA GCAGAAACCCGGCAAGGCCC CCAAGCTGCT GATCTACTCC TCCTCCTACCGGAACACCGG CGTGCCCGAC CGGTTTACCG GCTCTGGGTCCGGCACCGAC TTTACCCTGA CCATCAGCTC CCTGCAGGCCGAGGACGTGG CCGTGTACTT CTGCCAGCAC CACTACATCACCCCCTACAC CTTCGGCGGA GGCACCAAGG TGGAAATAAA A Vk2: (SEQ ID NO: 24)GACATCGTGA TGACCCAGTC CCCCTCCAGC CTGTCCGCCTCTGTGGGCGA CAGAGTGACC ATCACATGCA AGGCCTCTCAGGACGTGCGG AACACCGTGG CCTGCTATCA GCAGAAGCCCGGCAAGGCCC CCAAGCTGCT GATCTAGTCC TCCTCCTACCGGAACACCGC CCTCCCCGAC CGGTTTACCC GCTCTGGCTCCGGCACCGAC TTTACCCTGA CCATCAGCTC CCTGCAGGCCGAGGACGTGG CCGTGTACTT CTGCCAGCAG CACTACATCACCCCCTACAC CTTCGGCGGA GGCACCAAGG TGGAAATAAA A Vk3: (SEQ ID NO: 25)GACATCCACA TGACCCAGTC CCCCTCCAGC CTGTCCGCCTCTGTGGGCGA CAGAGTGACC ATCACATGCA AGGCCTCCCAGGACGTGCGG AACACCGTGG CCTGGTATCA GCAGAAGCCCGGCAAGGCCC CCAAGCTGCT GATCTACTGC TCCTCCTACCGGAACAGCGG CGTGCCCGAC CGGTTCTCTG GCTCTGGAAGCGGCACCGAC TTTACCCTGA CCATCAGCTC CCTGCAGGCCGAGGACGTGG CCGTGTACTT CTGCCAGCAG CACTACATCACCCCCTACAC CTTCGGCGGA GGCACCAAGG TGGAAATAAA A Vk4: (SEQ ID NO: 26)GACATCCAGA TGACCCAGTC CCCCTCCAGC CTGTCCGCCTCTGTGGGCGA CAGAGTGACC ATCACATGCA AGGCCTCTCAGGACGTGCGG AACACCGTGG CCTGGTATCA GCAGAAGCCCGGCAAGGCCC CCAAGCTGCT GATCTACTCC TCCTCCTACCGGAAGACCGG CGTGCCCGAC CGGTTCTCTG GCTCTGGAAGCGGCACCGAC TTTACCCTGA CCATCAGCTC CCTGCAGGCCGAGGACGTGG CCGTGTACTA CTGCCAGCAG CACTACATCACCCCCTACAC CTTCGGCGGA GGCACCAAGG TGGAAATAAA A

Because the structure of antibodies, including the juxtaposition of CDRsand framework regions in the variable region, the structure of frameworkregions and the structure of heavy- and light-chain constant regions, iswell-known in the art; it is well within the skill of the art to obtainrelated nucleic acids that encode anti-MMP-9 antibodies. Accordingly,polynucleotides comprising nucleic acid sequences having at least 75%,at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98% andat least 99% homology to any of the nucleotide sequences disclosedherein are also provided. Accordingly, polynucleotides comprisingnucleic acid sequences having at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%,at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98% and at least 99% identity toany of the nucleotide sequences disclosed herein are also provided. Inone example, the polynucleotide contains at least at or about 75%, 80%,85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more sequenceidentity with SEQ ID NO: 21 or includes or is SEQ ID NO: 21 and/orcontains at least at or about 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%,95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 26 orincludes or is SEQ ID NO: 26.

Pharmaceutical Compositions

MMP9 binding proteins, as well as nucleic acid (e.g., DNA or RNA)encoding MMP9 binding proteins, can be provided as a pharmaceuticalcomposition, e.g., combined with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrieror excipient. Such pharmaceutical compositions are useful for, forexample, administration to a subject in vivo or ex vivo, and fordiagnosing and/or treating a subject with the MMP9 binding proteins,such as in any of the therapeutic or diagnostic methods provided herein.

Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers are physiologically acceptable tothe administered patient and retain the therapeutic properties of theantibodies or peptides with which it is administered.Pharmaceutically-acceptable carriers and their formulations are andgenerally described in, for example, Remington' pharmaceutical Sciences(18th Edition, ed. A. Gennaro, Mack Publishing Co., Easton, Pa. 1990).One exemplary pharmaceutical carrier is physiological saline. Eachcarrier is “pharmaceutically acceptable” in the sense of beingcompatible with the other ingredients of the formulation and notsubstantially injurious to the patient.

Pharmaceutical compositions can be formulated to be compatible with aparticular route of administration, systemic or local. Thus,pharmaceutical compositions include carriers, diluents, or excipientssuitable for administration by various routes.

Pharmaceutical compositions can include pharmaceutically acceptableadditives. Examples of additives include, but are not limited to, asugar such as mannitol, sorbitol, glucose, xylitol, trehalose, sorbose,sucrose, galactose, dextran, dextrose, fructose, lactose and mixturesthereof. Pharmaceutically acceptable additives can be combined withpharmaceutically acceptable carriers and/or excipients such as dextrose.Additives also include surfactants such as polysorbate 20 or polysorbate80.

The formulation and delivery methods will generally be adapted accordingto the site and the disease to be treated. Exemplary formulationsinclude, but are not limited to, those suitable for parenteraladministration, e.g., intravenous, intra-arterial, intramuscular, orsubcutaneous administration, or oral administration.

Pharmaceutical compositions for parenteral delivery include, forexample, water, saline, phosphate buffered saline, Hank's solution,Ringer's solution, dextrose/saline, and glucose solutions. Theformulations can contain auxiliary substances to approximatephysiological conditions, such as buffering agents, tonicity adjustingagents, wetting agents, detergents and the like. Additives can alsoinclude additional active ingredients such as bactericidal agents, orstabilizers. For example, the solution can contain sodium acetate,sodium lactate, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride,sorbitan monolaurate or triethanolamine oleate. Additional parenteralformulations and methods are described in Bai (1997) J. Neuroimmunol.80:65 75; Warren (1997) J. Neurol. Sci. 152:3138; and Tonegawa (1997) J.Exp. Med. 186:507 515. The parenteral preparation can be enclosed inampules, disposable syringes or multiple dose vials made of glass orplastic.

Pharmaceutical compositions for intradermal or subcutaneousadministration can include a sterile diluent, such as water, salinesolution, fixed oils, polyethylene glycols, glycerine, propylene glycolor other synthetic solvents; antibacterial agents such as benzyl alcoholor methyl parabens; antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, glutathione orsodium bisulfite; chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraaceticacid; buffers such as acetates, citrates or phosphates and agents forthe adjustment of tonicity such as sodium chloride or dextrose.

Pharmaceutical compositions for injection include aqueous solutions(where water soluble) or dispersions and sterile powders for theextemporaneous preparation of sterile injectable solutions ordispersion. For intravenous administration, suitable carriers includephysiological saline, bacteriostatic water, Cremophor ELTM (BASF,Parsippany, N.J.) or phosphate buffered saline (PBS). The carrier can bea solvent or dispersion medium containing, for example, water, ethanol,polyol (for example, glycerol, propylene glycol, and liquidpolyetheylene glycol, and the like), and suitable mixtures thereof.Fluidity can be maintained, for example, by the use of a coating such aslecithin, by the maintenance of the required particle size in the caseof dispersion and by the use of surfactants. Antibacterial andantifungal agents include, for example, parabens, chlorobutanol, phenol,ascorbic acid and thimerosal. Isotonic agents, for example, sugars,polyalcohols such as manitol, sorbitol, and sodium chloride may beincluded in the composition. The resulting solutions can be packaged foruse as is, or lyophilized; the lyophilized preparation can later becombined with a sterile solution prior to administration.

Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers can contain a compound thatstabilizes, increases, or delays absorption or clearance. Such compoundsinclude, for example, carbohydrates, such as glucose, sucrose, ordextrans; low molecular weight proteins; compositions that reduce theclearance or hydrolysis of peptides; or excipients or other stabilizersand/or buffers. Agents that delay absorption include, for example,aluminum monostearate and gelatin. Detergents can also be used tostabilize or to increase or decrease the absorption of thepharmaceutical composition, including liposomal carriers. To protectfrom digestion the compound can be complexed with a composition torender it resistant to acidic and enzymatic hydrolysis, or the compoundcan be complexed in an appropriately resistant carrier such as aliposome. Means of protecting compounds from digestion are known in theart (see, e.g., Fix (1996) Pharm Res. 13:1760 1764; Samanen (1996) J.Pharm. Pharmacol. 48:119 135; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,377, describinglipid compositions for oral delivery of therapeutic agents).

Compositions of the present invention can be combined with othertherapeutic moieties or imaging/diagnostic moieties as provided herein.Therapeutic moieties and/or imaging moieties can be provided as aseparate composition, or as a conjugated moiety present on an MMP9binding protein.

Formulations for in vivo administration are generally sterile. In oneembodiment, the pharmaceutical compositions are formulated to be free ofpyrogens such that they are acceptable for administration to humanpatients.

Various other pharmaceutical compositions and techniques for theirpreparation and use will be known to those of skill in the art in lightof the present disclosure. For a detailed listing of suitablepharmacological compositions and associated administrative techniquesone can refer to the detailed teachings herein, which can be furthersupplemented by texts such as Remington: The Science and Practice ofPharmacy 20th Ed. (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins 2003).

Pharmaceutical compositions can be formulated based on the physicalcharacteristics of the patient/subject needing treatment, the route ofadministration, and the like. Such can be packaged in a suitablepharmaceutical package with appropriate labels for the distribution tohospitals and clinics wherein the label is for the indication oftreating a disorder as described herein in a subject. Medicaments can bepackaged as a single or multiple units. Instructions for the dosage andadministration of the pharmaceutical compositions of the presentinvention can be included with the pharmaceutical packages and kitsdescribed below.

Methods of Use

The MMP9 binding proteins, including anti-MMP9 antibodies and fragmentsthereof, of the present disclosure can be used, for example, intherapeutic and diagnostic methods, such as methods of detection of MMP9in a sample, methods of treatment (e.g., as in methods of inhibition ofangiogenesis), and methods of diagnosis and prognosis. Thus, providedare diagnostic and therapeutic methods and uses of the anti-MMP9antibodies. Examples of methods of use are described below.

Methods of Treatment

Provided herein are methods of treatment, including methods of treatingdiseases and disorders associated with MMP9 expression and/or activity,as well as uses of the provided antibodies and compositions in suchmethods. The diseases and disorders include, but are not limited tocancer, e.g., tumors (e.g., primary or metastatic tumors), such as thosethat express or are disposed in a tissue which expresses MMP9, andinflammatory diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, rheumatoidarthritis and inflammatory myopathies.

As used herein, “treat” or “treatment” means stasis or a postponement ofdevelopment of one or more symptoms associated with a disease ordisorder described herein, or ameliorating existing uncontrolled orunwanted symptoms, preventing additional symptoms, or ameliorating orpreventing the underlying metabolic causes of symptoms. Thus, the termsdenote that a beneficial result has been conferred on a mammaliansubject with a disease or symptom, or with the potential to develop suchdisease or symptom. A response is achieved when the patient experiencespartial or total alleviation, or reduction of signs or symptoms ofillness, and can include, without limitation, prolongation of survival.The expected progression-free survival times can be measured in monthsto years, depending on prognostic factors including the number ofrelapses, stage of disease, and other factors.

Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions for use in connection withsuch methods, such as those containing any of the antibodies orfragments thereof described herein. Compositions can be suitable foradministration locally or systemically by any suitable route.

In general, MMP9 binding proteins are administered in a therapeuticallyeffective amount, e.g., in an amount to effect inhibition of tumorgrowth in a subject, to inhibit metastasis, to inhibit inflammation, toinhibit tissue destruction, to inhibit MMP9 activity, or to treat theparticular disease or condition associated with MMP9.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the term “therapeuticallyeffective amount” or “effective amount” refers to an amount of an agentor compound or composition that when administered (either alone or incombination with another therapeutic agent, as may be specified) to asubject is effective to prevent or ameliorate the disease condition orthe progression of the disease, or result in amelioration of symptoms,e.g., treatment, healing, prevention or amelioration of the relevantmedical condition, or an increase in rate of treatment, healing,prevention or amelioration of such conditions. When applied to anindividual active ingredient administered alone, a therapeuticallyeffective dose refers to that ingredient alone. When applied to acombination, a therapeutically effective dose refers to combined amountsof the active ingredients that result in the therapeutic effect, whetheradministered in combination, serially or simultaneously. In one example,when in vivo administration of an anti-MMP9 antibody is employed, normaldosage amounts can vary from about 10 ng/kg to up to 100 mg/kg of mammalbody weight or more per day, preferably about 1 μg/kg/day to 50mg/kg/day, optionally about 100 μg/kg/day to 20 mg/kg/day, 500 μg/kg/dayto 10 mg/kg/day, or 1 mg/kg/day to 10 mg/kg/day, depending upon theroute of administration. In one embodiment, intravenous dosage rangefrom about 1 mg/kg to about 30 mg/kg. In some embodiments, intravenousdosages range from at or about 1 mg/kg to at or about 14 mg/kg, such asfrom at or about 2 mg/kg to at or about 14 mg/kg, q14d, once every 14days. In other embodiments, subcutaneous dosages range from at or about1 mg/kg to at or about 28 mg/kg, such as from at or about 2 mg/kg to ator about 28 mg/kg, q14d, once every 14 days. In some embodiments, theeffective amount of dosage is administered once every 7 to 28 days. Inone embodiment, the effective amount of dosage is administered onceevery 7 days. In another embodiment, the effective amount of dosage isadministered once every 28 days.

The selected dosage regimen will depend upon a variety of factorsincluding the activity of the MMP9 binding protein, the route ofadministration, the time of administration, the rate of excretion of theparticular compound being employed, the duration of the treatment, otherdrugs, compounds and/or materials used in combination with theparticular composition employed, the age, sex, weight, condition,general health and prior medical history of the patient being treated,and like factors well known in the medical arts.

A clinician having ordinary skill in the art can readily determine andprescribe the effective amount of the pharmaceutical compositionrequired. For example, the physician or veterinarian can start doses ofthe compounds of the invention employed in the pharmaceuticalcomposition at levels lower than that required in order to achieve thedesired therapeutic effect and gradually increase the dosage until thedesired effect is achieved.

In some cases, the methods of treatment include parenteraladministration, e.g., intravenous, intra-arterial, intramuscular, orsubcutaneous administration, or oral administration of the agent, e.g.,anti-MMP9 antibody or composition containing the same.

As used herein, the term “subject” means a mammalian subject. Exemplarysubjects include, but are not limited to humans, monkeys, dogs, cats,mice, rats, cows, horses, goats and sheep. In some embodiments, thesubject has cancer, an inflammatory disease or condition, or anautoimmune disease or condition, and can be treated with the agent ofthe present invention as described below.

If needed, for treatments, methods can further include additionaltherapies, such as in the case of cancer, surgical removal of the cancerand/or administration of an anti-cancer agent or treatment in additionto an MMP9 binding protein. Administration of such an anti-cancer agentor treatment can be concurrent with administration of the compositionsdisclosed herein.

Methods of Detection of MMP9

The present disclosure also contemplates methods of detecting MMP9 in asubject, e.g., to detect tumor or tumor-associated tissue expressingMMP9, or tissue or fluid or other biological sample associated with adisease as described herein, such as autoimmune or inflammatory disease.Thus, methods of diagnosing, monitoring, staging or detecting a tumorhaving MMP9 activity are provided.

Samples (e.g., test biological samples) from a subject (e.g., anindividual suspected of having or known to have a tumor associated withMMP9 expression, or suspected of having or known to have another diseaseor condition), can be analyzed for MMP9 presence, absence, expression,and/or levels. For example, such samples can be collected and analyzedby detecting the presence or absence of binding of an MMP9 bindingprotein, such as an antibody or fragment as described herein, tosubstance (e.g., protein) in the sample. In some examples, the methodsfurther include comparing the amount of binding detected to an amount ofbinding to a control sample, or comparing the detected level of MMP9 toa control level of MMP9. In some cases, the methods indicate thepresence, absence, or severity of an MMP9-associated disease orcondition, such as one described herein.

This analysis can be performed prior to the initiation of treatmentusing an MMP9 binding protein as described herein, or can be done aspart of monitoring of progress of cancer treatment. In some embodiments,provided are methods of treatment, carried out by performing thedetection assays and initiating, altering, or discontinuing treatment ofthe subject, for example, based on the results of the diagnostic assay.Such diagnostic analysis can be performed using any sample, includingbut not limited to tissue, cells isolated from such tissues, and thelike. In some cases, the methods are performed on liquid samples, suchas blood, plasma, serum, whole blood, saliva, urine, or semen. Tissuesamples include, for example, formalin-fixed or frozen tissue sections.

Any suitable method for detection and analysis of MMP9 can be employed.Various diagnostic assay techniques known in the art can be adapted forsuch purpose, such as competitive binding assays, direct or indirectsandwich assays and immunoprecipitation assays conducted in eitherheterogeneous or homogeneous phases.

MMP9 binding proteins for use in detection methods can be labeled with adetectable moiety. The detectable moiety directly or indirectly producesa detectable signal. For example, the detectable moiety can be any ofthose described herein such as, for example, a radioisotope, such as 3H,14C, 32P, 35S, or 125I, a fluorescent or chemiluminescent compound, suchas fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), Texas red, cyanin, photocyan,rhodamine, or luciferin, or an enzyme, such as alkaline phosphatase,β-galactosidase or horseradish peroxidase.

Detection can be accomplished by contacting a sample under conditionssuitable for MMP9 binding protein binding to MMP9, and assessing thepresence (e.g., level) or absence of MMP9 binding protein-MMP9complexes. A level of MMP9 in the sample in comparison with a level of areference sample can indicate the presence of a tumor ortumor-associated tissues having MMP9 activity. The reference sample canbe a sample taken from the subject at an earlier time point or a samplefrom another individual.

Various aspects of the invention are further described and illustratedby way of the several examples which follow, none of which are intendedto limit the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLES Example 1A: Preparation of Antibodies to Human MMP-9

The full-length human MMP9 protein without a signal peptide (SEQ ID NO.28) was used to immunize mice. Spleen cells from immunized mice werefused with myeloma cells to generate a hybridoma library. Monoclonalcultures were prepared and screened to identify cultures expressing ananti-MMP9 monoclonal antibody.

An antibody (AB0041) was purified from one of the cultures andcharacterized. This antibody contained an IgG2b heavy chain and a kappalight chain. Characterization included testing for the binding of AB0041to other human MMPs and to MMP9 proteins from other species, includingcynomolgus monkey, rat and mouse. As shown in Table 2, the AB0041antibody had greater affinity to human and cynomolgus MMP9, that it hadlower affinity to rat MMP9. In addition, the AB0041 antibody did notbind to murine MMP9 or to many human non-MMP matrix metalloproteinases.

TABLE 2 Dissociation constant (Kd) MMP Tested AB0045 AB0041 HumanMMP1 >100 nM >100 nM Human MMP2 >100 nM >100 nM Mouse MMP2 >100 nM >100nM Human MMP3 >100 nM >100 nM Human MMP7 >100 nM >100 nM Human MMP8 >100nM >100 nM Human MMP9 0.168 ± 0.117 nM 0.133 ± 0.030 nM Cynomolgus 0.082± 0.022 nM  0.145 ± 0.16 nM monkey MMP9 Mouse MMP9 >100 nM >100 nM RatMMP9 0.311 ± 0.017 nM 0.332 ± 0.022 nM Human MMP10 >100 nM >100 nM HumanMMP12 >100 nM >100 nM Human MMP13 >100 nM >100 nM

Additional characterization included assaying the binding of AB0041 tomutant mouse and human MMP9 proteins. Non-identical residues in thecatalytic domain of mouse and human MMP9 proteins were identified, andforty-six non-identical amino acid residues were selected formutagenesis. Most mutations were generated in mouse MMP9: the mouseamino acid residues were mutated to match those of human MMP9. Othermutations were generated in human MMP9: the human amino acid residueswere mutated to match those of mouse MMP9. The mutated mouse or humanMMP9 proteins were used in an ELISA assay.

In the ELISA assay, the AB0041 antibody was used as the primary antibodyand a goat anti-mouse IgG antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidasewas used to detect the binding. The wild-type human MMP9 was used apositive control and the wild-type mouse MMP9 was used as a negativecontrol. The results of the ELISA assay showed an arginine residue atposition 162 of the MMP9 amino acid sequence (R162) as important for theMMP9 binding of the AB0041 antibody. The results also showed the aminoacid residues E111, D113, and I198 were important for the MMP9 bindingof the AB0041 antibody. Based on the crystal structure of MMP9, E111,D113, R162, and I198 are grouped near each other around a Ca2+ ionbinding pocket of MMP9. In this study, the AB0041 antibody was shown tospecifically bind to an epitope containing amino acid residues withinregions of MMP9 containing amino acid residues 104-119, 159-166, and191-202.

In an enzymatic assay for MMP9, the AB0041 antibody was found to act asa non-competitive inhibitor of MMP9.

Example 1B: Preparation of Additional Antibodies to Human MMP-9

Additional hybridomas were generated, which produced antibodies havingvariable regions that shared identity with AB0041. One such hybridoma,designated M4, expressed an antibody containing the heavy chain (IgG2b)sequence:

(SEQ ID NO: 30) MAVLVLFLCLVAFPSCVLSQVQLKESGPGLVAPSQSLSITCTVSGFSLLSYGVHWVRQPPGKGLEWLGVIWTGGSTNYNSALMSRLSISKDDSKSQVFLKMNSLQTDDTAMYYCARYYYAMDYWGQGTSVTVSSAKTTPPSVYPLAPGCGDTTGSSVTLGCLVKGYFPESVTVTWNSGSLSSSVHTFPALLQSGLYTMSSSVTVPSSTWPSQTVTCSVAHPASSTTVDKKLEPSGPISTINPCPPCKECHKCPAPNLEGGPSMFPPNIKDVLMISLTPKVTVVVDVSEDDPDVRISWFVNNVEVHTAQTQTHREDYNSTIRVVSALPIQHQDWMSGKEFKCKVNNKDLPSPIERTISKIKGLVRAPQVYILPPPAEQLSRKDVSLTCLVVGFNPGDISVEWTSNGHTEENYKDTAPVLDSDGSYFIYSKLDIKTSKWEKTDSFSCNVRHE GLKNYYLKKTISRSPGK

(signal peptide set forth in underlined text, variable region set forthin plain text, and constant region set forth in italics), and the lightchain (kappa) sequence:

(SEQ ID NO: 31) MESQIQVFVFVFLWLSGVDGDIVMTQSHKFMFTSVGDRVSITCKASQDVRNTVAWYQQKTGQSPKLLIYSASYRNTGVPDRFTGSISGTDFTFTISSVQAEDLALYYCQQHYSTPYTFGGGTKLEVKRADAAPTVSIFPPSSEQLTSGGASVVCFLNNFYPKDINVKWKIDGSERQNGVLNSWTDQDSKDSTYSMSSTLTLTKDEYERHNSYTCEATHKTSTSPIVKSFNRNEC(signal peptide set forth in underlined text,variable region set forth in plain text, andconstant region set forth in italics).

The M4 antibody had a variable heavy chain with an amino acid sequence:

(SEQ ID NO: 32) QVQLKESGPGLVAPSQSLSITCTVSGFSLLSYGVHWRQPPGKGLEWLGVIWTGGSTNYNSALMSRLSISKDDSKSQVFLKMNSLQTDDTAMYYCARYYYAMDYWGQGTSVTVSS CDRs 1, 2, and 3 (SEQ ID NOs: 34, 35, and 36, respectively) underlined)

and a variable light chain with the amino acid sequence

(SEQ ID NO: 33) DIVMTQSHKEMFTSVGDRVSITCKASQDVRNTVAWYQOKTGQSPKLLIYSASYRNTGVPDRFTGSISGTDFTFTISSVQAEDLALYYCQQHYSTPYTFGGGTKLEVK (CDRs 1, 2, and 3 (SEQ. ID NOs: 37, 38,and 39, respectively) underlined).

Another such hybridoma, designated M12, expressed only a kappa chain,having the sequence:

(SEQ ID NO: 40) QVFVYMLLWLSGVDGDIVMTQSQKFMSTSVGDRVSVTCKASQNVGTNVAWYQQKPGQSPKALIYSASYRFSGVPDRFTGSGSGTDFLTISNVQSEDLAEYFCQQYNSYPYTFGGGTKLEIKRADAAPTVSIPPPSSEQLTSGGASVVCFLNNFYPKDINVKWKIDGSERQNGVLNSWTDQDSKDSTYSMSSTLTLTKDEYERHNSYTCEATHKTSTSPIVKSFNRNEC (signal peptide setforth in underlined text., variable region setforth in plain text, and constant region set forth in italics).

The M12 antibody had a variable light chain with the amino acid sequence

(SEQ ID NO: 41) DIVMTQSQKFMSTSVGDRVSVTCKASQNVGTNVAWYQQKPGQPKALIYSASYRFSGVPDRFTGSGSGTDFTLTISNVQSEDLAEYFCQQYNSYPYTFGGGTKLEIK (CDRs 1, 2, and 3 (SEQ ID NOs: 42, 43, and44, respectively) underlined).

A sequence comparison, showing differences between the M4 and M12 heavyand light chains as compared with AB0041 antibody is shown in FIG. 4.

An enzymatic assay was carried out. The results demonstrated that theantibodies produced by the M4 and M12 hybridomas acted asnon-competitive inhibitors of MMP9 (data not shown).

Example 1C: Preparation of Antibodies to Mouse MMP-9

Another mouse antibody, AB0046, was generated. Using a process similarto that described in Example 1A, the MMP9-knockout mice (strain B6.FVB(Cg)-Mmp9^(tmlTvu)/J) was immunized using targeted domains of thepro/catalytic domain fragment of murine MMP9. The AB0046 antibody had akappa light chain with an amino acid sequence

(SEQ ID NO: 45) MSSAQFLGLLLLCFQGTRCDIQMTQTTSSLSASLGDRVTISCSASQGISNYLNWYQQKPDGTFKLLIYYTSILIISGVPSRFSGSGSGTDYSLTISNLEPEDIATYYCQQYGWLPRTFGGGTKLEIKRADAAPTVSIFPPSSEQLTSGGASVVCFLNNFYPKDINVKWKIDGSERQNGVLNSWTDQDSKDSTYSMSSTLTLTKDEYERHNSYTCEATHKTSTSPIVKSFNRNEC(signal peptide set forth in underlined text, variable region set forthin plain text, and constant region set forth in italics) and an IgG1heavy chain with an amino acid sequence

(SEQ ID NO: 46) MGWSSIILFLTVATATGVHSQVQLQQPGSVLVRPGASVKLSCTASGYTFTSYWMNWVKQRPGQGLEWIGEIYPISGRTNYNEKFKVKATLTVDTSSSTAYMDLNSLTSEDSAVYYCARSRANWDDYWGQGVTTLTVSSAKTTPPSVYPLAPGSAAQTNSMLGCLVKGYFPEPVTVTWNSGSLSSGVHIPPAVLQSDLYILSSSVTVPSSTWPSETITCNVAHPASSITKVDKKIVTRDCGCKPCICTVPEVSSVFIFPPKPKDVLTTTLTPKVTCVVVDISKDDPEVQFSWFVDDVEVHTAQTQPREEQFNSTFRSVSELPIMHQWLNGKEFKCRVNSAAFPAPIEKTISKTKGRPKAPQVYTIPPPKEQMAKDKVSLTCMITDFFPEDITVEWQWNGQPAENYKNTPIMDTDGSYFVYSKLNVQKSNWEAGNTFTCSVLHEGLHNHHTEKSLSHSPGK (signal peptide set forth in underlinedtext, variable region set forth in plain text, andconstant region set forth in italics).

The following amino acid sequence comprises the framework regions andcomplementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of the variable region of theIgG1 heavy chain of AB0046 (with CDRs underlined):

(SEQ ID No: 47) QVQLQQPGSVLVRPGASVKLSCTASGYTFTSYWMNWVKQRPGQGLEWIGEIYPISGRTNYNEKFKVKATLTVDTSSSTAYMDLNSLTSEDSAVYYCARSRAN WDDYWGQGTTLTVSS.

The following amino acid sequence comprises the framework regions andcomplementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of the variable region of thekappa light chain of AB0046 (with CDRs underlined):

(SEQ ID No: 48) DIQMTQTTSSLSASLGDRVTISCSASQGISNYLNWYQQKPDGTFKLLIYYTSILHSGVPSRFSGSGSGTDYSLTISNLEPEDIATYYCQQYGWIPRTFGGGT KLEIK

Additional characterizations showed that the AB0046 antibody bound tomouse MMP9 non-competitively or its binding was not dependent on theconcentration of mouse MMP9. The AB0046 antibody did not bind to humanMMP9 or MMP2, mouse MMP2, 3, 7, 8, or 12. Using epitope analysis asdescribed in Example 1A, it was shown that the proline residue atposition 162 of the mouse MMP9 amino acid sequence (P162) (correspondingto R162 of human MMP9) was important for the MMP9 binding of the AB0046antibody. The results suggested that the AB0046 antibody specificallybound to an epitope containing a residue within a portion of mouse MMP9corresponding to the portion containing amino acids 159-166 of humanMMP9. Thus, the AB0046 antibody was an inhibitory antibody specific tomouse MMP9 and had similar kinetics of binding and inhibition as thoseof AB0041. Because AB0046 is specific to mouse MMP9 and binds to anepitope as AB0041/AB0045, AB0046 is suitable for assays which useseither AB0041 or AB0045.

Further characterization showed that the AB0046 antibody was a murineIgG1 isotype, having a limited effector function in mouse.

Three other mouse anti-MMP9 antibodies were generated using similarmethods, which were non-inhibitory and for which P162 was important forbinding.

Example 2: Humanization of Antibodies to Human MMP9

The amino acid sequences of the heavy chain and light chain of the mouseAB0041 antibody were altered at certain locations in the framework(i.e., non-CDR) portion of their variable regions to generate proteinsthat are less immunogenic in humans. These amino acid sequence changeswere shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The cross-reactivity of one humanizedantibody, referred to as AB0045, is shown in Table 2A above.

The humanized variant anti-MMP9 antibody, AB0045 (humanized, modifiedIgG4 (S241P); see Example 2, above) contained the humanized AB0041 heavychain variant VH3 (having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 7

(QVQLQESGPGLVKPSETLSLTCTVSGFSLLSYGVHWVRQPPGKGLEWLGVIWTGGTTNYNSALMSRFTISKDDSKNTVYLKMNSLKTEDTAIYYCARYYYG MDYWGQGTLVTVSS)

and the humanized AB0041 light chain variant VH4 (having the light chainsequence set forth in Vk4 (having the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:12

(DIQMTQSPSSLSASVGDRVTITCKASQDVRNTVAWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYSSSYRNTGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQAEDVAVYYCQQHYITPYTFG GGTKVEIK)).

The heavy chain of the AB0045 antibody has the sequence set forth in SEQID NO: 49

(MGWSLILLFLVAVATRVHSQVQLQESGPGLVKPSETLSLTCTVSGFSLLSYGVHWVRQPPGKGLEWLGVIWTGGTTNYNSALMSRFTISKDDSKNTVYLKMNSLKTEDTAIYYCARYYYGMDYWGQGTLVTVSSASTKGPSVFPLAPCSRSTSESTAALGCLVKDYFPEPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTKTYTCNVDHKPSNTKVDKRVESKYGPPCPPCPAPEEFLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSQEDPEVQFNWYVDGVEVHNAKKPREEQFNSTYRVVSVETVTHQDWENGKEYKCKVSNKGLPSSIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSQEEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSRLTVDKSRWQEGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSLGK (signal sequence underlined sequenceof the constant region presented italics)); thelight chain of the AB0045 antibody has thesequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 50(MRVPAQLLGLLLLWLPGARCDIQMTQSPSSLSASVGDRVTTTCKASQDVRNTVAWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYSSSYRNTGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQAEDVAVYYCQQHYITPYTFGGGTKVEIKRTVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKQWKVDNALSGNSQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQGLSSPVTKSFNRGEC (signal sequenceunderlined; sequence of the constant region presented italics)).The antibody contains 1312 amino acids in length, is composed of twoheavy chains and two light chains, and has a theoretical pI of about7.90, extinction coefficient of about 1.50 AU/cm at 280 nm for 1 g/L, amolecular weight of about 144 kDa, and density of about 1 g/mL informulation buffer (50-100 mg/mL product concentration).

Further characterization of this antibody is described in Example 3,below.

Example 3: Characterization of Variant MMP9 Antibody AB0045 andComparison to AB0041 and AB0046

As described above, AB0045 and AB0041 antibodies are non-competitiveinhibitors of MMP9. Thus, both antibodies inhibit MMP9 enzymaticactivity independently of substrate concentration. The AB0045 antibodybinds to the same MMP9 epitope as the AB0041 antibody with an affinityin the 1×10-12 molar range, as shown by direct binding and surfaceplasmon resonance (SPR) assays. Both antibodies are specific for MMP9,with no significant non-specific binding observed against other purifiedprotein targets including purified domains and full length forms of MMPenzymes. Both AB0045 and AB0041 antibodies are cross-reactive withnative and recombinant human and recombinant rat and cynomolgus monkeyMMP9.

The in vitro binding affinity, inhibition characteristics, and thespecificity of the antibodies of AB0045, AB0041 and AB0046 for MMP9 ofhuman and non-human origin were determined using Enzyme-LinkedImmunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and an MMP9 enzymatic assay. SPR analysiswas also used to generate dissociation constants (K_(d)) of AB0045 andAB0041.

In the ELISA assay, the K_(d) value of AB0045 and AB0041 antibodies forhuman, cynomolgus monkey, and rat MMP9 derived from ELISA were all foundto be <400 pM. The ELISA data illustrated that both AB0045 and AB0041antibodies cross-react with MMP9 from all the relevant toxicologyspecies tested. The AB0046 antibody was shown to be specific to mouseMMP9 and therefore could be used as a surrogate antibody in mouseefficacy models. The results showed that the K_(d) value of the AB0045antibodies for human MMP9 was 0.168±0.117 nM and the and K_(d) value ofthe AB0041 antibody was 0.133±0.030 nM. The results on the AB0046antibodies showed it bound to mouse MMP9 with the K₁ value of0.218±0.097 nM. In the SPR analysis, the results showed that the K_(d)values of AB0045 and AB0041 antibodies for human MMP9 were 8.8 pM and0.4 pM, respectively.

The enzymatic inhibitory activities of AB0045, AB0041, and AB0046antibodies were evaluated in an assay assessing MMP9-mediated cleavageof a fluorogenic peptide substrate Mca-PLGL-Dpa-AR-NH2. All threeantibodies inhibited MMP9 enzyme activity. The IC₅₀ values of AB0045(0.691±0.097 nM) and AB0041 (0.569±0.185 nM) for human MMP9 were notstatistically different. The IC₅₀ value for the AB0046 inhibition ofmouse MMP9 was 0.352±0.03 nM. The value was not adjusted for theconcentration of active enzyme that was generated during thepreparation. Additional MMP9 enzymatic assay under steady-stateconditions was used to determine IC₅₀ and mode of inhibition. In thisassay, the IC₅₀ values of AB0045 ranged from 0.148 nM to 0.161 nM in a20-fold range of substrate concentration, and in one example is 0.158 nmThe results showed that the MMP9 inhibitory activity of AB0045 wasnon-competitive.

TABLE 2B Binding and Inhibitory Properties of AB0045, AB0041, andsurrogate mouse antibody AB0046 AB0045 AB0041 AB0046 ELISA Human MMP90.168 ± 0.117 nM 0.133 ± 0.030 nM >100 nM Dissociation constantCynomolgus monkey 0.082 ± 0.022 nM  0.145 ± 0.16 nM >100 nM MMP9Dissociation constant Mouse MMP9 >100 nM >100 nM 0.218 ± 0.097 nMDissociation constant Rat MMP9 0.311 ± 0.017 nM 0.332 ± 0.022 nM >100 nMDissociation constant SPR Human MMP9   8.8 pM   0.4 pM ND Dissociationconstant Activity Assay Human MMP9 IC₅₀ 0.691 ± 0.097 nM 0.569 ± 0.185nM >100 nM Cynomolgus monkey  0.194 ± 0.048 nM*  0.189 ± 0.019 nM* >100nM MMP9 IC₅₀ Rat MMP9 IC₅₀   8.23 ± 1.24 nM*    2.78 ± 1.17 nM * >100 nMMouse MMP9 IC₅₀ >100 nM >100 nM  0.352 ± 0.03 nM*

The results confirmed that AB0045 and AB0041 have equivalent binding andinhibitory properties and that AB0046 can serve as a relevant mousesurrogate antibody, for example, in mouse models of human disease.

1-41. (canceled)
 42. An isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof that binds matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), comprising: a heavy chain comprising a heavy chain variable (VH) domain, wherein the VH domain comprises a complementarity-determining region 1 (CDR-H1) comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 51, a CDR-H2 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 52, and a CDR-H3 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 53; and a light chain comprising a light chain variable (VL) domain, wherein the VL domain comprises a CDR-L1 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 54, a CDR-L2 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 55, and a CDR-L3 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:
 56. 43. The isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 42, wherein the VH domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 47. 44. The isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 42, wherein the VL domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 48. 45. The isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 42, wherein the VH domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 47, and the VL domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 48. 46. The isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 42, wherein the VH domain comprises an amino acid sequence having at least about 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 47. 47. The isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 42, wherein the VL domain comprises an amino acid sequence having at least about 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 48. 48. The isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 42, wherein the VH domain comprises an amino acid sequence having at least about 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 47; and the VL domain comprises an amino acid sequence having at least about 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 48. 49. The isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 42, wherein the heavy chain comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:
 57. 50. The isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 42, wherein the light chain comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:
 58. 51. The isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim 42, wherein the heavy chain comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 57, and the light chain comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:
 58. 52. An isolated nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding an antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof that binds matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), wherein the antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof comprises: a heavy chain comprising a heavy chain variable (VH) domain, wherein the VH domain comprises a complementarity-determining region 1 (CDR-H1) comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 51, a CDR-H2 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 52, and a CDR-H3 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 53; and a light chain comprising a light chain variable (VL) domain, wherein the VL domain comprises a CDR-L1 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 54, a CDR-L2 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 55, and a CDR-L3 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:
 56. 53. An isolated vector comprising the isolated nucleic acid of claim
 52. 54. An isolated host cell comprising the isolated vector of claim
 53. 55. A composition comprising the isolated antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof of claim
 42. 56. The composition of claim 55, further comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.
 57. A kit comprising the composition of claim
 55. 58. A method for detecting MMP9 in a sample from a mammalian subject, comprising: contacting the sample with an antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof that binds matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9); and detecting binding of the antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof to MMP9 in the sample, thereby detecting the presence or absence of the MMP9 in the sample; wherein the antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof comprises a heavy chain comprising a heavy chain variable (VH) domain, and a light chain comprising a light chain variable (VL) domain, wherein the VH domain comprises a complementarity-determining region 1 (CDR-H1) comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 51, a CDR-H2 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 52, and a CDR-H3 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 53; and the VL domain comprises a CDR-L1 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 54, a CDR-L2 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 55, and a CDR-L3 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:
 56. 59. The method of claim 58, wherein the mammalian subject is a mouse.
 60. The method of claim 58, wherein the sample is a tissue or fluid sample from the mammalian subject.
 61. The method of claim 60, wherein the fluid sample is a blood, plasma, serum, whole blood, saliva, urine, or semen sample.
 62. The method of claim 58, further comprising the step of comparing the amount of binding in the sample to an amount of binding to a control sample.
 63. The method of claim 58, wherein the antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof is labeled with a detectable moiety.
 64. The method of claim 58, wherein the VH domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 47, and the VL domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 48. 65. A method of treating a disease or condition in a mammalian subject, comprising administering to the mammalian subject a composition comprising an antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof that binds matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9); wherein the antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof comprises a heavy chain comprising a heavy chain variable (VH) domain, and a light chain comprising a light chain variable (VL) domain; wherein the VH domain comprises a complementarity-determining region 1 (CDR-H1) comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 51, a CDR-H2 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 52, and a CDR-H3 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 53; and the VL domain comprises a CDR-L1 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 54, a CDR-L2 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 55, and a CDR-L3 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 56; and wherein the disease or condition is associated with increased MMP9 expression and/or activity.
 66. The method of claim 64, wherein the composition inhibits the enzymatic activity of MMP9.
 67. The method of claim 64, wherein the mammalian subject is a mouse.
 68. The method of claim 64, wherein the VH domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 47, and the VL domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 48. 